Get Out Of My Head
by ITgwendolendragon
Summary: After an 'accident' happens, Jackie is sent to a mental health hospital, where she really doesn't want to be. She later meets up with an old friend there who she's very surprised to see and finds out she's not the only one she knows facing problems. Eric/Jackie. I know, shitty summary. Just ignore it. Very angsty.
1. Chapter 1

A/N – Alright guys, this story is angsty af. It's rated M for a reason, those reasons being that there will be self-harm, depression, thoughts of suicide, and later some sexual situations. If you don't like any of that stuff, don't go any further. I hope you guys enjoy it, this is one of my darker stories. I probably won't update it as frequently as my other stories, but the chapters will probably be a little longer. I hope you guys like this story, I'm really excited to write it.

Disclaimer – I don't own That 70's Show or any of it's characters.

1982

Jackie looked at herself in the mirror, her once tan skin as pale as can be now. She hated herself. She used to think she was pretty, but then after high school, she realized that was all she was. Just a pretty face. No one actually liked her for her personality, not that her personality back then was something to die for. Everyone liked her because she was good looking, but even she thought she didn't have that anymore.

Her life was hell right now. Her mom finally came home and now she's living here in Point Place again. Her dad was still in prison and he wouldn't get out for another seven or eight years unless he got lucky, which he probably wouldn't. She called her dad sometimes, and he was always really nice. He listened to what she had to say, even if she was the only one who got to speak. God, she misses him. He at least tried. He loved her, he tried being a good parent. He got her everything she ever wanted. Her mother on the other hand.

Her mom only cared about money, and once Jackie's dad got arrested, her mother was nowhere to be found. She wasn't staying for her father, she wasn't staying for Jackie, she was staying because of the money.

Jackie moved out. She couldn't handle living with her mother. She moved in with Steven. He helped her. He gave her a job at his record store, he gave her a place to sleep, and he gave her warm food to eat. He was so nice, even if he didn't want to admit it.

Jackie was still depressed though. All her friends were gone, it was just her and Steven. Fez was a hairdresser in Milwaukie, Donna was in school, Michael was trying to provide for his family, and Eric was… Well, she just knows he moved to Kenosha, and that was that. Red and Kitty don't really know much about what he does right now, he only calls them every once and a while.

But no matter what it is Eric's doing, Jackie was still alone. At least she felt that way. She didn't have a lot of money, which she wasn't used to. She didn't feel pretty anymore, which she wasn't used to. And she didn't have a lover, which she wasn't used to.

So Jackie stood there, in front of the mirror, her hazel eyes looking sullen. Steven's been sort of worried about her lately. She barely ate, she hardly slept, she never smiled. He was convinced she was clinically depressed, but trying to get her help was hard, especially when she didn't even want to help herself.

Jackie held a razor in her hand. She's never used it like this before. It was obviously meant for shaving, but Jackie thought she should try this out. This is what all the sad kids do, they say it helps. Maybe it would help her.

She slowly brought the razor to her frail wrist, her shaking pale hand signaling that she was nervous. She was actually going to do this? No! Think this through, Jackie. Do you really want to do this? I mean, they said it would make you feel better, that's what you've heard. But all those kids still seem depressed. Maybe they just did it for attention? She was sure some did, but the ones that wore sweaters in the summer. No, they weren't doing it for attention, they were doing it because they were sick and they needed help. Maybe she needed help?

Jackie shook her head, tears burning her once lively eyes. She slowly slid the razor across her wrist, letting out a small noise of pain as her skin began to sting. She bit her lip to hold back the pained cries. She didn't want Steven bursting through that door. She dropped her hand holding the razor to her side and watched the red substance fell from her arm and dripped onto the white tiled bathroom floor.

There was more blood than she thought. Had she done this right? Now she was starting to panic. She dropped the razor and went to hold her bleeding arm, but the flow wouldn't stop. She let a sob escape her throat as she began to feel dizzy. She couldn't keep her balance, so she fell back against the wall, creating a loud thud, and then she slid down to the floor, tightly gripping her arm that was gushing with blood.

She heard footsteps coming down the short hall of her and Steven's small apartment and then there was a knock on the door, "Jackie? Are you okay? I heard something? Did you fall?"

"Steven…" Jackie tried, but her voice seemed to be muted, she couldn't get a noise to escape her lips, besides of sob, so she cried loudly and then she saw the door swing open, revealing a very worried Steven Hyde.

"Jesus Christ, Jackie! What'd you do?!" Steven cried, falling to his knees and grabbing ahold of her bleeding wrist. He started looking around for a towel, and then he spotted the blood covered razor on the floor, and he picked it up and held in front of Jackie's face, "Why did you do this?!"

"I'm sorry…" Jackie whimpered quietly, feeling more and more lightheaded as time passed on.

Steven groaned irritably and tossed the razor up onto the counter and then he grabbed the hand towel and wrapped it tightly around Jackie's arm, just above her bleeding wound, hoping to stop the flow of blood.

"Keep your hand here, I'm calling 911," Steven rushed before he stood and rushed out of the bathroom and went to grab the phone.

Jackie looked down at her bleeding arm and suddenly felt very tired. The tears were still rolling, but she could feel her eyes begin to slide shut. This wasn't how she wanted to go, not at all. She just did this because she heard it was supposed to help. It didn't help! Not at all! She was going to die. God, help her!

Jackie closed her eyes and the darkness surrounded her.

0-0-0-0-0

BEEP… BEEP… BEEP…

That was the noise that Jackie woke up to. She opened her tired eyes, but she seemed to have a hard time keeping them open. She turned her head a little and groaned as the dryness in her throat. She smacked her lips and tried to focus her eyes as her ears were suddenly flooded with the muffled voices of a couple of people.

Where was she? Jackie looked towards the door, at least that's what it looked like, she couldn't tell, everything seemed blurry. She squeezed her eyes shut tight and when she opened them they were a little more focused. She could make out two people now right outside the door, but the door to what? Where the hell was she?

She could now hear the peoples voices more clearly now, but they seemed to be speaking quietly, so it was still hard for her to hear. One of the voices was female, and the other male. She saw the man looked like he was wearing a white coat of sorts and he had a clipboard under his arms and hugged to his chest as he solemnly looked at the woman and listened to her, nodding right along to her words.

She seemed frantic, Jackie couldn't see her, she was out of view. She recognized the voice though, it was her mother. Jackie frowned and turned her head and tried to look down at herself. She was wearing a pale blue gown and she was covered in two thin blankets. She also had an IV in her arm and there was a thick bandage around her wrist.

She was in the hospital.

She turned back towards the door and opened her mouth to speak, but her throat was so try nothing came out. She coughed quietly to clear her throat, and apparently the doctor heard her, because he turned his head and saw her looking right back at him. He smiled sadly at her and turned back to Jackie's mother before they both entered the room, her mother rushing past the doctor, a look of worry on her face.

"Jackie, sweetheart, are you okay?" She asked, grabbing Jackie's hand and squeezing it tightly, pushing some brown hair behind her daughter's ear.

Jackie tried to speak again, but her throat wouldn't allow it.

"There's some water by her bedside there, Ms. Burkhart," The doctor said politely, pointing the lukewarm water on the side table next to Jackie's bed.

Pam grabbed the water and gently handed it to her daughter, who shakily took it and took a sip from the glass. She felt much better after the water trickled down her throat, the soreness in her throat a little better now. She handed the water back to her mother after she was done, and Pam set it back down on the bedside table.

"Jackie, what happened? How did you cut yourself? Did you drop it? Did you slip?" Pam asked question after question, obviously very worried for her daughter. Jackie had to admit, she was actually surprised.

"I-I..." Jackie didn't know what to say. She wanted to lie. She wanted to tell her it was an accident, that her hand slipped and that was it, but she couldn't.

"Ms. Burkhart, I don't think it was an accident," The doctor said, a little sadly.

Pam looked up at the doctor in alarm and curiosity, "What?"

"You don't get a cut in your wrist that deep by accident," The doctor explained, "Especially when what she cut it with was a razor blade."

"How do you know it was a razor blade?" Pam asked, her brow furrowed in curious confusion, but also a bit of anger. Was her mother angry with her?

"Her friend that called 911, he told them he found it on the floor next to her covered in blood," The doctor informed her, then he looked at Jackie, "Ms. Burkhart, do you mind if I ask you a few questions?"

Jackie just shrugged, but she didn't say anything. The doctor looked down at his clipboard and cleared his throat, then he looked back up at Jackie and Pam Burkhart. Pam looked confused, concerned, and angry. Jackie looked tired, sad, and overall, scared.

The doctor frowned at her before he asked, "Do you have a past with self-abuse?"

Jackie widened her eyes a little and she could feel her mother's eyes on her. She swallowed nervously and then shook her head, "N-no. I've never done this before… Until now…"

"Are you depressed?" The doctor asked, even though he already knew the answer. The girl was incredibly weak, and not just because she lost a lot of blood. She was too thin, meaning she's been starving herself, she was sleep deprived, and you could just tell there was something wrong just by looking into her eyes.

Jackie then avoided his eyes, not wanting to answer that question. Their eyes were burning into her, it made her uncomfortable and it made her feel cramped. She shifted in bed a little, wanting to get the hell out of here desperately.

"Ms. Burkhart?" The doctor called her name quietly.

Jackie looked up at the doctor briefly, still staying silent. She looked down at her arm with the bandage around it, the IV needle slightly further up her arm.

"Jackie, answer the man," Her mother suddenly snapped impatiently, causing Jackie to flinch.

Jackie looked up into her mother's eyes for a moment. They held so many emotions, only a few of which Jackie could identify. Jackie then pushed her nervous gaze over to her doctor and then avoided his gaze again, looking down at her hands as her fingers tapped against one another.

"Yes," Was all Jackie said. She didn't want to give details, she just told him the blunt answer. She was too tired to go into specifics right now.

"How long have you been depressed?" The doctor asked, writing something down on his clipboard.

Jackie shrugged, still avoiding his pale blue eyes, "I don't know… About a year, I guess…"

The doctor nodded and wrote that down as Pam sucked in a sharp breath that garnered her daughter's attention. Pam met eyes with her daughter and said, "Sweetheart, why didn't you say something? I could have helped you."

Jackie wanted to tell her off. She wanted to tell her that her mother couldn't help her. She wanted to tell her that she was part of the reason she was the way she was. She wanted to yell at her. But no. She was better than that. She just stayed quiet.

"Do you have any thoughts of suicide?" The doctor then asked, making both women turn their attention towards him.

"Uh-um…" Jackie didn't know what to say. She didn't, but she did. Did that make sense? Earlier she was terrified, she thought that was it for her. She was honestly surprised that she woke up. But on the other hand, there was a tiny part of her that kind of didn't want to wake up, "I don't… Really know…"

The doctor nodded, as if he knew what she meant. Did he get that often? Jackie felt embarrassed. She was so pathetic. How did she end up like this? Why had she let herself end up like this?

The doctor went on to ask her some other question to which she answered all honestly. She wanted to sleep, she was so tired. The doctor finally stopped asking questions and he set his clipboard down and came over to her bedside.

"I'm just going to check your vitals now, okay?" The doctor said, picking up her hand and examining the tight bandage around her wrist, making Jackie tense a little at the contact.

After he was done checking her bandage, making sure it was still snuck, but not constricting blood flow, he gently set her hand down. He then took the stethoscope from around his neck and put the ear pieces in before he put the small metal piece up to her chest listened to her heartbeat. It was quiet for the next couple of minutes, the only noise was him asking her to breathe in and out.

After that was done, he put the stethoscope back around his neck and looked back at his chart briefly before he finally rested his eyes on Jackie, "We're going to have you talk to a phycologist and they'll talk to you about the way you're feeling and try to find a correct diagnosis. Once that's done we'll figure out where to go from there, okay?"

"Don't we already know what's wrong with her?" Pam asked as the doctor stood.

The doctor peered down at the two and offered a sad smile, "You want the truth?"

Pam asked, eager for an answer, "Yes. Yes, I do. What is it? What do you think is wrong with her?"

"Well, from what I've conducted in the past few hours talking with her and with her friend I'm pretty positive she's depressed," The doctor went on, "She says this was the first time she's harmed herself, and I can believe that. She has no signs of her doing this in the past. She's malnourished and sleep deprived, obviously… I think we caught this at the right time, it was starting to go further downhill, I think."

"Well… What do we do now?" Pam asked, and Jackie just watched them talk.

"Well, my guess is that they'll put on medication and possibly send her to mental hospital for short term stay, depending on the severity," The doctor said, and that made Jackie tense up.

"Mental hospital? I am not going to a mental hospital," Jackie said. There was no way that was happening.

"Relax, that's only a possibility," The doctor said, looking down at his charts, "You'll stay here in the hospital for a couple of days, we'll get you back up to health, then you'll talk to one of our psychologists. They'll evaluate you and we'll go from there."

"I'm not going to a mental hospital," Jackie repeated, gazing sternly at the doctor.

"Relax," The doctor said again, "Like I said, it might not happen. You've got a week before we even know. Just try and get some rest, okay? You deserve it."

Jackie gazed tiredly up at the doctor. He was right. She was so tired, she could barely keep her eyes open. She watched as the doctor looked down at Pam, and Jackie saw his lips move, but she didn't hear anything he said. The only thing in her head right now was what could possibly happen to her. She had this horrible feeling she'd end up in a mental hospital with a bunch of other depressed people. She didn't want to be a loony, she was Jackie Burkhart. She was perfect. She wasn't crazy, no, she was just a little out of it, she tried to convince herself.

The doctor's voice got more and more muffled as Jackie's eyes began to slide shut, and it only took her a minute to fall into a deep, well deserved sleep.

0-0-0-0-0

"I can't believe I have to come here," Jackie said as she sat in the passenger side of Steven's car.

Her mother wanted to drive her here, but Jackie told her she didn't her to see her like this. It was a lie, but she didn't want her mother coming with her, that was that. So she said goodbye to her back at the apartment and had Steven drive her.

"It's for the best, Jackie," Steven told her, stopping at a traffic light.

"It was just an accident, Steven," Jackie tried, giving her ex-boyfriend a pleading look, "I won't do it again. I was just… Trying something."

"What? Trying to kill yourself?" Steven asked, a little harshly.

"No! I wasn't trying to kill myself, I was… They said it was supposed to help…" Jackie said, avoiding his eyes as she looked down at the dashboard.

"How was that supposed to help?" Steven asked, his gaze hard as he sort of just glared out the windshield, "Jackie. You could've died. Do you know how that could've effected people? Some many people care about you, you would've hurt so many…"

"I know…" Jackie said, looking down at her hands, "I guess I just feel… Alone…"

"Why? You have so many good friends," Steven told her, but she retaliated quickly.

"Not anymore!" Jackie cried, making Steven flinch a little at the pitch of her voice, "Everybody's gone and moved away. I rarely go to see my dad, my mom doesn't care, all my friends are gone, I don't even know where Red and Kitty are… Everything's a mess…"

"I'm still here," Steven tried offering his support, his features softening a little.

"I know, and I'm glad, but… You're all I have," Jackie said sadly, looking down at her hands in her lap now, "I'm just… Depressed."

"I know," Steven said, nodding curtly, "And that's why I'm bringing you here. I really care about you and I want you to get better. I've known there's been something wrong for a while now, I just never thought it was this bad."

"You're really that concerned with me?" Jackie asked. Steven was never the most emotional, loving person in the world.

"Of course I am!" Steven cried, his bright eyes widening as he gripped the steering wheel tightly, "I may not seem like the most caring guy in the world, but I do want you to be happy, Jackie. I don't ever want to walk in on you on the floor, in a pool of your blood again. Because next time… Next time things might not go over as smoothly."

Jackie flinched at his words and kept her gaze focused on her fidgeting fingers. She didn't know what to say. She didn't realize he cared so much. He was probably the only one. Jackie sighed and stayed silent as Steven continued to drive to Milwaukee.

She was dreading this. She really did not want to go here. She was Jackie Burkhart. She used to be a cheerleader, she used to be popular. She used to be beautiful. Now here she was, going to the loony bin where all the other depressed kids went.

She leaned against the window, resting her cheek in her palm as she watched everything they passed. Milwaukee was a pretty place, she wishes she could have come here in different conditions.

Point Place didn't have a mental hospital, not a good one anyway. They had a small area for mental patients at the hospital, but it wasn't the best place for treatment. The psychologist she saw referred her to this place in Milwaukee, she said it was much better treatment wise and the doctors there actually seemed to know what the hell they were doing.

But just because this place was said to be better, didn't mean Jackie had to like it more. She wanted to go home and just curl up in bed, under her sheets and sleep. That's all she wanted to do. Now she had to come here and be forced to do things at certain times. She was pretty sure they weren't going to let her lie in bed all day.

Jackie was so wrapped up in her thoughts she didn't even notice Steven had parked in a parking lot. She wasn't snapped out of it until Steven shook her shoulder gently, "Jackie?"

Jackie flinched and looked over to Steven and then she furrowed her brow and looked around curiously. She saw the building they were parked in front of and then she looked back to Steven, "We're here all ready?"

Steven nodded and looked up at the hospital, "Yep… You ready?"

Jackie looked into his eyes for only a brief moment before she looked back out the window and up at the hospital. It didn't look like a mental hospital. It had color to it. The building was beige color and there was teal trim work around some areas, like the windows and the doors. It didn't look so bad so far.

Jackie sighed and looked back to Steven, but averted his eyes quickly, "Yeah, I'm ready."

0-0-0-0-0

"I'm going to need any loose items you have you, bracelets, necklaces, earrings…" The woman behind the counter said as she handed Jackie a small container to put these items in.

Jackie raised an eyebrow, "I can't have jewelry?"

The woman shook her head, "Sorry, sweetheart."

Jackie frowned, but she took off all her jewelry and put the items in the container. The woman then looked back up at her and said, "The drawstring in your hoody. Take that out, please."

Jackie sighed and began to take out the drawstring. She knew why this had to come out. She put it in the box and frowned, not wanting to be here in the slightest.

"Shoe laces," The woman said, looking down at Jackie's sneakers that she just threw on this morning. She wasn't really a sneakers type of girl, but she didn't really care anymore.

"Shoe laces?" Jackie asked, furrowing an eyebrow. They were way to thin and way to be doing anything with.

"We can't take any chances," The woman said with a small nod.

Jackie sighed again and bent over, taking her shoe laces out of her shoes quickly and tossing them into the container finally. The woman looked down at the contents in the small plastic box and nodded, "Anything else?"

Jackie felt in her pockets that we empty and shook her head, "No."

"Alright," The woman said, "When we get upstairs they'll do a pat down and then we'll get you to your room, you'll have a tour, and then you'll probably go have lunch. If you'd like, you can go say goodbye to your friend now."

Jackie nodded and turned away from the woman, turning instead to her old friend Steven. She forced a smile, as did he as she approached him.

"I'm sorry all this happened," Jackie said sadly, her forced smile still present.

"Don't be sorry," Steven shook his head, "Just be glad you're getting the help you need and deserve."

Jackie smiled a little at that and nodded, "Thanks Steven for being so supportive."

"Anytime," Steven said, standing in front of her awkwardly, "I'm guessing you want a hug now?"

Jackie giggled a little, feeling the tears prick at her eyes and she held open her arms and enveloped him into a hug. She rested her head against his shoulder as several tears fell from her eyes and ran down her pale face. She felt his arms tighten around her, his comforting hands resting on her back.

"You'll be okay, I know you will," Steven said, rubbing her back soothingly, "I'll come and visit, okay?"

Jackie nodded against his shoulder, "Promise?"

Steven smiled sadly, his arms tightening around Jackie, "I promise."

Jackie smiled and finally they pulled apart. Jackie stepped back to the woman who just put her items away, the woman looking between the two a little sadly.

"You can come and visit any time you want to, son," The woman said.

Steven nodded, "Okay, thank you… I will."

The woman smiled and then tilted her head down to look at Jackie, "Are you ready now?"

Jackie nodded, her eyes still on Steven, "Yeah, I'm ready."

"Alright, let's go," The woman said, putting a gentle hand on Jackie's shoulder and directing her towards the elevator.

Jackie finally peeled her gaze away from Steven, trying not to look back. She could feel the tears burning her eyes, but she tried desperately to keep them held back. Her and the middle aged woman entered the elevator and turned back to face Steven. Jackie watched Steven as he just stood there, looking after her, and she didn't take her eyes off of him until the elevator doors slid shut.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N – Yay, I got a couple followers! Thanks guys! This chapter's a little shorter, we'll be getting into some of the juicier stuff soon. I hope you like it.

Disclaimer – Read the first chapter's.

"So, it says here you were admitted for depression and self-harm," Jackie's new therapist said; her name was Julia, "I'm going to ask you some questions, okay? Feel free to interrupt me at any time and just tell me how you're feeling, alright?"

Jackie nodded, but stayed quiet. This was weird, she's never done anything like this before. Well, when she was little and her parents got divorced she had to go and see a child psychologist, but only for a few sessions and then she was free to do what she wanted with her time.

"Have you seen a therapist before?" Julia asked. She had a book rested in her lap and a ballpoint pen in between her fingers, ready to write down whatever Jackie told her.

"Yes," Was the simple answer Jackie gave.

"For what reasons?" Julia asked, writing in her book.

"My parents got divorced when I was little, I had to see a counselor for that," Jackie said softy, picking at her chewed back fingernails.

"Do you remember how many sessions you had?" Julia asked politely, flicking the pen back and forth.

Jackie shrugged, "I don't know. Three or four?"

"Okay," Julia said, writing that down, "Now, in your view, what do you think is the problem?"

"With myself?" Jackie asked, making sure she was hearing right, and she replied when Julia nodded, "Well… I've been sort of sad lately, and I don't really know why…" That was a lie, "I guess there's some different things that could contribute to it, but nothing major."

"Is there anybody close to you making your life difficult?" Julia asked.

Jackie finally met her eyes and tensed up. She could tell her who the people were, but she didn't have to explain why they were making her life hell, "Well… My mother is one of them. My dad's another. And I guess… I guess some of my friends are part of it, as well."

"Would you like to tell me about it?" Julia asked calmly.

"No, I'd rather not," Jackie shook her head, but she said it politely.

"Okay, what about work? Do you have a job?" Julia asked.

Jackie nodded, "I'm a cashier at my friend's record store."

"Is he one of the friends causing you problems?" Julia asked.

Jackie shook her head again, "No, he's my best friend. He's looked out for me."

Julia smiled a little and wrote that down, "Okay. Let's get back to the problem. You say you're sad. Besides the people in your life, is there any other contributing factors?"

Jackie thought for a moment. She didn't think so, "No, not that I can think of."

"Can you remember the last time you were happy?" Julia asked curiously, but softly. She was good at this.

Jackie couldn't remember the last time she was truly happy, so she shook her head, "I've been feeling this way for a while. I honestly can't remember the last happy moment of my life."

"What makes you happy? Or what did in the past?" She asked.

Jackie shrugged, "I don't know… I used to like spending money, that made me happy… But my dad went bankrupt and my mom…" She trailed off, not wanting to get into that right now, "I'm sort of broke right now. The only reason I have a place to live is because of Steven."

"So I'm assuming your job doesn't pull in much money?" Julia assumed.

"I'm a cashier, what'd you expect?" Jackie asked sarcastically, but she didn't crack a smile. She felt like she was being too rude, but she was sure Julia's had worse.

"Well, Jackie, the psychologist you saw back in Point Place told me all about you," Julia said, looking down at some papers that Jackie became curious about, "It's says here she diagnosed you with moderate clinical depression with suicidal thoughts and self-abusing actions. Can you confirm all of this?"

She was depressed, that much was for sure. Self-harm. That was only once. Suicidal? She didn't think so.

"I am depressed, but the self-abusing thing… That was only once," Jackie explained, "And I'm not suicidal."

"Self-abuse could also be refusing to eat and sleep properly," Julia informed her, to which Jackie frowned.

"Oh…" She said, avoiding the older woman's gaze, "Well then… I guess I have been doing that."

"This all okay, Jackie," Julia said, making Jackie look up at her, "You're not the only one out there with problems like these, that's actually many people here in this hospital that have the same problems. They're actually about half of our residents here."

Jackie didn't really care about all of that. She knew she wasn't the only one with these problems. Why was that supposed to make her feel better?

"How long do I have to stay here?" Jackie asked curiously, a little hopefully. She prayed it wasn't for long.

"Six weeks minimum," Julia responded, closing her book and looking across at Jackie; she saw the girl's face fall, "We are going to get you the help you need, Jackie. This is the best mental health hospital in Wisconsin. The doctor, psychologists, nurses, and staff here are all very inclusive. They care about everyone here. You will get better, I promise."

Jackie didn't believe her. It was kind of hard to, but she nodded anyway and looked up at the woman, "Okay... Am I ever going to go to my room, or…?"

Julia smiled and nodded, setting her book and pen aside, "Yes, you are. Follow me."

0-0-0-0-0

They were in the actually hospital now, where all the patients or as her therapist called them 'residents' resided. The door coming in here was locked and you needed a staff ID to get in and out, which meant Jackie would have a hard time breaking out if she tried.

As soon as they walked in, Jackie was overwhelmed with all the different people in here. There was a man with a hat on walking around, asking people to be quiet, his hands clenched it front of his chest anxiously. There was a woman who was wearing blue plastic gloves, she had a cotton ball in her hand and was cleaning off the phone. And then there was a man in woman's clothing and he seemed to be flirting with one of the male nurses, who actually seemed to be enjoying the conversation.

"This is where I'll be staying?" Jackie asked, seemingly not impressed.

Julia smiled, "Everyone here had the same reaction to this place when they first came here. Don't worry, you'll get used to it."

"I don't think so," Jackie said, looking around at all the loons. She wasn't one of them was she?

Julia garnered Jackie's attention away from one of the weird patients when she pointed down the hall to a boy walking towards them, "Ah! Here's your tour guide."

Jackie looked to where Julia was pointing and saw the boy coming towards them. He looked to be around Jackie's age, possibly younger. He was short, about Jackie's height actually, and he had long blondish brown colored hair that was kind of wavy. He had bright blue eyes and a smile that sparkled. He didn't look like he belonged here. Not with all of these people.

"Gordon, this is Jackie, our new resident," Julia introduced with a smile, "Jackie, Gordon will show you around, okay?"

Jackie looked up at Julia and then over at Gordon briefly before she looked back to Julia. She didn't want her to leave, she was the only one she trusted in here thus far.

"Okay," Jackie said.

"Alright. Gordon, be nice, okay?" Julia said to the boy, pointing a stern finger at him, but she smiled, too.

"Don't worry, Julie, I got this under control," Gordon said in his slightly nasally voice as Julia began to walk away.

"Alright, I trust you," Julia said, then she turned to look at Jackie, "Jackie, if you ever need anything, my door's always open."

Jackie offered a saddened sort of smile and nodded, "Okay. Thank you."

Julia smiled sweetly and waved to the girl, "I hope you have a good stay."

Then, Julia was gone. Jackie sighed as she watched the woman walk through the door and go back to her work. She probably had other people to talk to. Jackie wasn't sure about this. This was all a little too weird for her liking.

"Hi, I'm Gordon, nice to meet you," The boy in front of her suddenly said, making Jackie whip her head around to look at him.

He had such pretty eyes.

She forced a smile, "Hi, I'm Jackie."

"Good to meet you, Jackie," Gordon smiled, shaking her hand quickly, "So, I'm assuming you've never been in one of these before?"

Jackie shook her head, "No, never."

"Well, don't worry," Gordon said, looking around the area they were in, "It may seem a little weird at first, and it might take you some time to get used to it, but eventually it'll just seem normal to you."

"I hope so," Jackie said, feeling very anxious with all these weird people standing around.

"Okay, before we start our grand tour of this wonderful prison, I'm sure you're curious about the people in this room," Gordon said, referring to the three odd people standing around them.

Jackie looked around at them, watching them interact with the nurses and staff. Jackie shrugged, "Are they usually this…"

"Weird? Yes," Gordon said as he turned and pointed to the tall man shushing people, "That's Jerimiah. He's a schizo."

"A schizo?" Jackie asked curiously, not really knowing what that is.

"Yeah, you know, schizophrenic?" Gordon said, looking over at the girl, that same smile on his face. He definitely didn't belong here. There was no way, "He hears voices and all that. Don't worry, he's not a threat."

Jackie didn't like hearing that somebody here 'wasn't a threat.' It just seemed weird, it was as if he expected her to think he was a threat.

"That over there is Gloria," Gordon said, pointing the larger dark skinned woman cleaning the phone, "She's really paranoid. Has OCD, we can't get her to go outside, she thinks she'll die if she goes out there."

Jeez.

"And that is Richard," He pointed to the cross dresser, "But he goes by Ria. He's in here for having violent outbursts. He doesn't really have them unless you really piss him off."

Mental note: don't piss off Ria.

"And… What about you?" Jackie asked curiously to Gordon.

He looked over at her curiously, a happy gleam in his eyes, "What am I in for?"

He made it sounded like this was a prison. That's what he referred to it as previously, anyway.

"I'm sorry, that was rude. You don't have to tell me," Jackie said, shaking her head, feeling a little embarrassed now.

"No, it's alright," Gordon said, smiling at her, "I'm manic, I thought you could tell."

"What's that?" Jackie asked curiously. She really didn't have much knowledge of mental health or different disorders. She should have paid more attention in health class.

"Manic depression? It's bipolar disorder," Gordon explained, "You know? It's like hyperactivity times 100. And… Sometimes I get depressed. But I'm on a good medication right now. It evens out my mood swings."

"How long have you been here?" Jackie asked.

Gordon thought for a moment and then shrugged, "I don't know, six months I think. I lost track after my first six weeks here."

Did they all start out here for six weeks? Did that mean Jackie could possibly stay longer than that? She didn't want to stay here for six months. That sounded like hell.

"Well, are you ready for your tour?" Gordon asked, still smiling over at her.

Jackie looked at him and nodded, "Yeah, I guess."

"Alright then, follow me," Gordon said as he started down the hall, Jackie trailing behind him.

He had a pep in his step, Jackie was sluggish. These were examples of two completely different people. Jackie followed Gordon for a few moments down the hall, turning a few times, he didn't speak again until they reached a larger room.

"This is the rec room," Gordon said, motioning into the room where several residents were currently sitting in, "There's some board games, cards, some instruments, a radio. It's pretty cool."

Jackie looked around. There were only a few people in there and most of them looked depressed. There were two people sitting at a table playing cards, one of them laughing. Jackie pulled her gaze away from them as Gordon started walking off again, so she followed him for another good minute before the stopped in front of a smaller room, but the door was closed and there was a sign that said 'occupied.'

"This is where the showers are," Gordon said, "Well, this is the women's shower. The men's is just across the hall over there. You girls are lucky, your door locks. Us guys aren't so lucky."

Jackie followed Gordon just a little ways down the hall before they stopped at a room where only one man was in.

"This is the TV room," Gordon said, "We get a whopping five channels. Cartoons, the news, sports, ABC, and MTV. Thank God we got MTV."

"Would you shut up?" The older man in the TV room snapped at Gordon, glaring at him, "I'm trying to watch Cheers!"

Gordon rolled his eyes, "That shows overrated."

"Get out of here before I shove this remote up your ass!" The older man snapped, starting to stand.

"Okay, okay! I'm going!" Gordon cried, grabbing Jackie's arm and pulling her behind him.

They both dashed down the hall and ended up back where they started. Gordon and Jackie both stopped and caught their breath before Gordon looked up and smiled, "And we're back where we began."

This place didn't seem as bad she thought it was going to be.

Jackie looked over at the telephone and asked, "How often are we allowed to use those?"

"Anytime you want," Gordon said, looking over at it, "Your conversations can't last more than ten minutes though, others want to use the phone too. It's real hell on the holidays if you stay in."

"Are we allowed to leave sometimes?" Jackie asked curiously.

"Only if somebody's with you," Gordon said, "And you have to have a pass."

"Well, how do you get one of those?" Jackie asked curiously.

Gordon adjusted his shoulders before he answered, "Usually by behaving and making progress. Like, for example, if you're anorexic and you eat at least half your meal and not throw it up, you get rewarded and could possibly get a pass."

"Have you ever gotten one?" Jackie asked another question.

Gordon nodded, "Yeah, a few times. They're really not that hard to come by, you know, unless you're like a threat to society or something like that. Ria wasn't allowed to leave at first, he just got his first pass last week."

Jackie looked down at her shoes with no shoe laces. She wondered what she'd have to do to get a pass out of here for the day.

"Hey, I never asked you what you're in for," Gordon said, smiling, "I mean, it's only fair you tell me since I told you."

Jackie looked over at him and shrugged, "I'm depressed."

Gordon didn't drop his smile, he just nodded, "I sort of figured. You're kind of quiet. My roommates kind of like you, you seem a little better than him though. You actually seem like you have hope."

Jackie was taken off guard by that, "I do?"

Gordon nodded, "Yeah, I can see it in your eyes. There's something there. That's good. A lot of depressives don't have that."

Jackie sort of smiled at that, "Thanks?"

"No problem," Then he looked down at her wrist that still had a bandage wrapped around it, "What happened to your arm?"

Jackie looked down at her wrist and sighed, slumping her shoulders a little, "Oh, I cut myself."

"On accident or on purpose?" Gordon asked.

"On purpose," She said, sounding ashamed.

"Hey, don't worry about it," Gordon said as Jackie looked up at him, "I've got some to match."

Gordon then pulled up the sleeve of his olive green coat and showed her some faded scars up along his forearm. Jackie was a little surprised, she didn't see him as the kind of guy who would do something like this. Although, she didn't know his past.

"I did all of these before I was diagnosed as bipolar," Gordon said, looking at his scars, "People used to tell me that these would always be here to remind me of how sad I used to be. How depressed I was. But I sort of look at them now as a success story."

"How so?" Jackie asked with a quirked eyebrow.

"Because, I don't look back at these and think of how lonely and sad I used to be, I look at them and think about how far I've come," Gordon said, smiling, "I mean, four years ago I would've never seen myself as happy, but now here I am."

Four years? He was depressed for that long?

He finally dropped his sleeve and smiled over at Jackie, "Don't worry, Jackie. I know you'll get better, you seem to have some hope."

Jackie didn't feel hopeful, but he saw something in her. It was weird. She felt like he could be a pretty good friend. Look at you. Jackie Burkhart making friends with the loonies.

"Come on, I'll take you to your room," Gordon said, having Jackie follow him.

Jackie followed the boy down the hall a little ways, going to the rooms. It was kind of loud down this corridor right now, she hoped it wasn't like this all the time. They walked for just a minute or two before they stopped outside a room.

"This is it," Gordon said, presenting it to Jackie as if it were a prize she had won at a fair.

She peered inside. It was small. There were two beds with plain white sheets covering them, a pale blue blankets on the end of both of them. The walls were pale and there was a window on the other side of the room. There were two dressers and there was a small bathroom with a toilet and a sink.

She could make this work.

"That's your roommate, Josephine," Gordon said, pointing to the girl rocking back and forth on the far bed, "We just call her Josie. Hey Josie!"

Josie looked over at Gordon and forced a smile, though it looked a tad bit sincere, "Hi Gordon."

"She's a schizophrenic, too," Gordon whispered to Jackie, "Disorganized, not paranoid."

Jackie nodded, even though she wasn't quite sure what he meant by that. Jackie sort of waved to Josie, "Hi."

The dark skinned girl waved back, still smiling, "Hi."

"Well, this is where I leave you, maybe I'll see you later?" Gordon said, starting to step away from Jackie.

"Uh, yeah, maybe," Jackie said awkwardly, smiling a little at the odd boy, "Thanks Gordon."

"No problem," He smiled back at her, "See you later, pretty eyes."

Jackie blushed a little at the compliment, making him laugh and then waved and went on with his day. Jackie released a nervous breath and turned to her room, stepping inside and going over to the bed. So this was it. She officially started her stay here now.

"You're pretty," Josie suddenly said to Jackie, making Jackie look up at her in surprise.

"Thanks…" Jackie said, smiling a little.

Josie blushed a little and looked down at her hands nervously, "Sorry, I'm weird."

Jackie sighed and looked down at her hands, "Aren't we all here?"

That made Josie smile.

"So… You met Gordon, huh?" Josie asked awkwardly, not really sure what to say to her new roommate.

Jackie nodded and looked up at the girl, "Yeah… He's nice."

"He's crazy," Josie giggled, "He likes you."

"I like him, too," Jackie said, adjusting her shoulders, "I didn't expect the people here to be so…"

"Nice?" Josie asked, and Jackie nodded, "I thought the same thing when I first got here, too."

"How long have you been here?" Jackie asked curiously, relaxing a little bit now.

Josie shrugged, "Not long, only three weeks."

Good. Jackie was glad she wasn't the only newbie around here.

"This place isn't as depressing as I thought it was going to be," Jackie said, looking around the room.

Josie nodded, "Yeah, I know right? The people here are nice, the staff actually cares, they let you watch TV and go to the rec room whenever you want. It's a lot better than the last place I was in."

So this girl wasn't really a newbie, just a newbie to this hospital in particular.

Jackie felt her stomach start to growl, causing her to put her hands to her stomach and peer down at it.

"Hungry?" Josie asked, one eyebrow raised.

Jackie nodded, "I've been eating hospital good for the past week. I'm starving."

Josie smiled as she got out of bed, stepping over to Jackie, "Lunch is in about fifteen minutes, we can start heading over that way. You want to sit with me?"

Jackie smiled a little, bringing a little life to her once bright eyes, "Sure, that sounds great."


	3. Chapter 3

A/N – Thanks for all the reviews guys. I'm glad you guys like it. AmbientSpaceNoise – No, Hyde and Jackie are just friends in this story. He was just letting her live with him because she was low on money and practically homeless.

This is the chapter where Eric comes in, so strap in!

Disclaimer – Read the first chapter's.

Jackie and Josie ate lunch by themselves that afternoon. They got to the cafeteria a little early, and they ate a nice little meal. They had peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, that was what was being served for lunch that day. For dinner, they had hamburgers and potato chips for a side. Josie told Jackie this was one of the better meals they had, and Jackie could agree. It wasn't that bad, but she could also just be used to hospital food.

For dinner, they were joined by the ever so cheerful Gordon.

"Hi-ho, girls," The shorter boy said as he came over to their table and pulled out a chair for himself before plopping down across from them, "Jackie. How's your first day been?"

Jackie shrugged, eating a BBQ flavored potato chip, "Okay. I'm just trying to get used to it."

"It'll take about a week for that to happen," Gordon said, looking down at his burger, making sure he had everything he wanted on it, "After that it'll all seem normal. Well… As normal as it can be, anyway. You're still in the loony bin, after all."

Josie rolled her eyes, "Would you quiet calling it that, you always scare the newbies."

"You don't seem to think too kindly of this place," Jackie noticed, wiping her hands off on her napkin.

Gordon shrugged, "It's not that bad, really. The people are a bit much to handle sometimes, but it's alright."

Jackie watched as Gordon bit into his burger. He still seemed too happy to be here. She knew he was bipolar, but he still seemed out of place. Of course, Jackie's never seen what Gordon's really like. She's only just met him, he could be just as crazy as everyone else here.

"So, Jackie. What'd you do before you came here?" Gordon asked, "Did you have a job or anything?"

Jackie nodded, "I worked at a record store."

"Sweet," Gordon smiled, intrigued now, "What kind of music you like?"

Jackie shrugged, "Probably nothing you'd be into."

"How do you know what kind of music I like?" Gordon asked, giving her a look, "You've only just met me. You know nothing about me."

"You just put off this rock n roll type of vibe," Jackie said, crossing her arms over her chest.

Gordon smiled as he looked into her pretty eyes, "You'd be correct. The Velvet Underground is the greatest rock band in the history of music."

"Even better than the Beatles?" Josie asked with a sarcastic smile.

"Fine, besides the Beatles," Gordon retorted as he looked back at Jackie, "I'm assuming you're a pop kind of girl."

"Alright, why you guys play twenty questions, I'm going to go talk to Hayley," Josie said after she noticed her red haired friend enter the cafeteria, "I'll see you later, Jackie."

"Okay," Jackie said back as Gordon kept his gaze on her.

"So…" Gordon said, eating a potato chip before he asked, "How old are you?"

Jackie looked back at the boy and replied with, "Twenty-one… How old are you."

"Nineteen," Gordon replied.

"I thought you looked kind of young," Jackie said with a small smile.

Gordon smiled his contagious smile back at her, "You know, for a depressed person, you sure do smile a lot."

Then Jackie frowned. She looked down at her fidgeting hands, wanting to avoid the topic of her depression, "So, uh… What's it like being, uh… You know…?"

"Manic?" Gordon finished her question.

If they were going to talk about their problems, Jackie would rather it focus on his and not hers.

"Well, sometimes I get depressed," Gordon said, looking up, as if in thought, "What happens more often though, is that I'll have a manic episode."

"What's that?" Jackie asked curiously.

"Well, they can be different depending on the severity," Gordon said, shrugging, finally looking back to Jackie, "Sometimes I just get really hyperactive and talk a lot, maybe jump around a little. Sometimes I run around and scream. And this one time, I was being chased by the nurses because I was having a severe episode, I came into this cafeteria here, jumped on one of these tables, and started a food fight."

"Wow…" Jackie said, "They get that bad?"

"Well, the last one was a little bit on my part because of my personality," Gordon said, "I started the food fight just to piss off the nurses. It was hysterical."

"Did they ever catch you?" Jackie asked curiously.

Gordon nodded, "Yeah. They tackled me and had to sedate me. I woke up three hours later strapped to my bed. They told me I had become a threat to others and had to stay there for a while."

"Wow," Jackie said, a little surprised.

"Yeah, but… I don't have them so much anymore," Gordon said through a mouthful of food, "Only sometimes if I'm really stressed or something. I'm on a pretty good medication now, so—Oh shit!"

Jackie flinched at his sudden outburst and gave him a weird look, "What's wrong? Are you alright?"

Gordon looked up at Jackie and nodded, "Yeah, I just forgot to give you your schedule."

"My schedule?" Jackie asked curiously.

"Yeah, we have a schedule, it kind of blows," Gordon said with a shrug, "But you get used to it."

"Well, what's on this schedule?" Jackie asked.

"Well, I hope you're used to getting up early, because you have to be awake by seven thirty every morning," Gordon started, "That's right around breakfast time, then you have to go see your therapist for about half an hour, then you're free for a while and then you have lunch time. Then we have to go to the rec room for a while and do some sort of 'fun' activity. At four o'clock, that's visiting hour. Then after that, there's dinner. Then you get some more free time, and before bed you have to take your meds."

"Also, depending on the day, you have different types of therapy you have to do," Gordon went on, "Monday's and Fridays we have group therapy. On Tuesdays and Thursdays we have art therapy. Wednesday's and Saturdays are recreational therapy, basically like active type stuff, and then on Sunday you're off. No therapy that day, well, expect for your morning check up with your therapist."

"Seems like a packed schedule," Jackie said, sort of dreading it.

Gordon nodded, "That's what I thought at first, too, but the therapy sessions don't last more than an hour usually, sometimes they're shorter. Don't worry, you'll get used to it within the next couple of weeks."

Jackie nodded, but she stayed silent. She was starting to feel sick, she wasn't used to eating this much. Her stomach was starting to cramp, and she felt nauseous. She winced a little at the pain in her stomach and put a gentle hand over it.

Gordon noticed the way she was acting and raised an eyebrow, "Are you okay?"

Jackie shook her head, "I think I'm going to throw up."

"Uh, okay… Just… Hold it in for a second, let me go get a nurse," Gordon said, standing suddenly and leaving Jackie's side.

Sorry Gordon, I don't think that's going to happen.

She couldn't keep it down any longer, that hamburger and BBQ chips didn't set well on her stomach, this was coming up now. Jackie suddenly stood, her chair screeching against the tile floor, both her hands on her stomach now.

Jackie suddenly wretched and threw up everything she just ate, plus her breakfast, all over the previously clean floors. Everybody's eyes were on her now, some looking disgusted, and others acting as if they've seen this all before.

"Jackie, are you okay?" Josie asked as she stood behind Jackie now, reaching out and putting a gentle hand on the slightly older girl's shoulder.

Jackie sucked in a breath and nodded, her face heating up in embarrassment, "Yeah… I'm fine."

Jackie heard the commotion around her, and she looked up and around the cafeteria. There was another girl not far from her who looked like she was going to be sick as well, and Jackie heard somebody screaming. It was Gloria, the woman with OCD.

A couple of nurses ran over to her and grabbed her arms, which made the entire situation even worse.

"Don't touch me!" Gloria screamed at one of them, pulling away and swatting at her own arms as if they had infected her. She probably thought that.

"Gloria, calm down, why don't we go get you to the shower, okay? We'll get you all cleaned up?" The woman nurse said, keeping her hands a good distance away from Gloria, but she was still ready to spring if need be.

Gloria nodded, "Just get me out of here!"

The nurses then escorted Gloria out of the cafeteria and that's when Gordon came running back over to Jackie, a nurse following behind him.

"Jackie, you alright?" Gordon asked in concern. It was the first time Jackie's ever seen him frown.

She swatted her hand at him, "Yeah, yeah I'm fine… I'm just not used to this much food on my stomach."

"Jackie, why don't you come with me," The nurse said kindly to Jackie, "We'll clean you up and let you go rest for a while, okay?"

Jackie nodded, sniffling a little, "Okay…"

The nurse gently grabbed Jackie's arm and helped her step around the puddle of vomit before she escorted her to the exit, leaving both Gordon and Josie in the cafeteria.

0-0-0-0-0

That was so embarrassing. She's never felt more humiliated in her life. At around nine o'clock that that, about two hours before bedtime, they let Jackie come get something else to eat. They allowed it since she was new, and they wanted her to eat, at least put a little something on her stomach.

So Jackie was allowed in the cafeteria, with supervision by the doors.

Jackie just got a sandwich, peanut butter and jelly. It was light and shouldn't upset her stomach at all. So she took her plate and went to go sit down. She ate in silence.

She was uncomfortable here. It was almost like a prison. You were constantly monitored, you had a consistent schedule that you had to follow, and Gordon told her earlier in the rec room that you're not allowed to touch any of the other patients. It was weird.

And the people here were crazy. Jackie was messed up, but not this messed up. She wasn't severely depressed, she wasn't manic, she wasn't a schizoid. This place kind of freaked her out.

Jackie finished eating after only a few minutes. She stood and began to take her tray back towards the kitchen so they could wash it. Her stomach didn't hurt this time, it felt full though. She ate an entire sandwich and felt fine. She was a little proud of herself, actually.

Jackie placed her tray down on top of the trash can and then she left the cafeteria. Now she had a couple hours of free time. She didn't want to go back to her room, that just made her feel sad. There was nothing to do in there.

So she went to the rec room, she'd be alone like she wanted because no one was really in there after dark. But at least there was something to do in there.

Jackie walked down the empty hallways, most of the residents were probably watching TV right now. Jackie entered the rec room a moment later, and just as she suspected, it was empty. She walked into the room and went over to the book shelf, deciding to find something to read.

Maybe they magazines?

She searched the shelf for different categories. She finally found fashion and she took out a Glamour magazine. This would do.

She found a comfortable chair to sit in and sat back and relaxed, flipping through the pages. The only other person in the room was one staff member, and she was currently reading a book at one of the empty tables.

Jackie flipped through the magazine for a few minutes, actually feeling content for the first time in a long while, but it ended quickly when her ears caught the quiet sound of something.

She looked up curiously, looking around the room for the source. It sounded like hushed whispering, it was quiet so she couldn't really tell what they were saying. She sat up a little and looked around the room again. The only other person here was that one woman, and she was silently reading a book, but she did look up at Jackie when she saw her move out the corner of her eye. She saw the girl looking around curiously, but she seemed a little annoyed as well.

"It's just him, honey," The older woman said with a small smile to the girl, "He does this pretty much every night."

Jackie looked over at the woman with a curious furrow in her brow, "Who does what every night?"

"That boy there," The woman pointed a wrinkly finger to one of the tables, but Jackie didn't see anybody sitting there. Was this woman one of the patients? Or was Jackie just hearing and seeing things, "Look a little lower, dear."

Jackie then looked down, and then she saw him. He had his back turned to her, but he was sitting underneath one of the tables, his head sort of bowed as he whispered God knows what to himself.

Jackie gazed curiously at him, wondering what on Earth he was doing, "Just leave him be, he'll be fine in a few minutes."

Jackie gazed curiously up at the woman, but she was really curious about the boy. She had to go see if he was okay. He was rocking a little bit, his fingers flicking up by his ears. Jackie closed the magazine and stood up, deciding she'd walk over to the table, the older woman watching her curiously as she went. She wanted to see where this went.

Jackie made her way over to the table, stopping when she got just before it. She set her magazine down on the table top and peered under the table. She still couldn't see his face, but she could hear what he was saying now. They were numbers, they seemed random to Jackie, but also familiar.

Jackie didn't want to touch him, afraid she might scare him, and afraid she'd get in trouble. So she spoke instead.

"Hey," Was all she said, and it was enough to make him flinch and notice there was somebody with him now.

He covered his ears briefly, then he rubbed a hand across his forehead. Jackie still couldn't make out his face, "Are you okay?" She asked.

"I'm fine. Just leave me alone," He snapped, his voice shaking as he continued to rock back and forth.

That voice sounded familiar. Too familiar. Jackie knelt down all the way and peered around to look at his face. No way.

"Oh my God," Jackie said, her whole face holding a look of shock, "Eric?"

He rubbed his closed eyes vigorously, shaking his head as he seemed to panic, "How do you know my name?"

He sort of scooted away from her a little bit, nervous now. Jackie's heart was beating fast now. Why was he here? What happened? Is this why Red and Kitty barely ever heard from him anymore?

"It's me. Jackie," She said, holding a hand over her chest, "Jackie Burkhart."

Eric's eyes suddenly snapped open and he whipped his head around to face Jackie. She was expecting him to say something like 'what are you doing here?' or something along those lines, but instead he just scooted as far away from her as possible, his back hitting the table leg, and he said, "Don't tell them I'm here!"

The older woman across the room stood, never having heard the boy yell. She grabbed her radio, ready to call in some backup just in case he had a full breakdown.

Jackie furrowed her brow curiously, "Don't tell who you're here?"

"My parents!" Eric said, tugging at his already messy hair, his eyes closed again, "They-They can't know I'm here!"

Jackie's brow furrowed further. What was she supposed to do?

"Eric, I—"

"Where is he, Joan?" A man's voice suddenly spoke.

Jackie looked up and saw two heavily built staff members standing in the doorway of the rec room, looking across at the older woman who was now pointing at Eric. The two staff members began approaching and Jackie scooted away from Eric a little, trying to get out of his way as he noticed the two coming near him.

He pushed himself further against the table leg, his eyes wild as he stayed as far away from the two staff members as he could, "Stay away from me!"

"Eric, you know what happens when you get like this," One of the men said, trying to get him to come with them the easy way.

Jackie just stood up, stood back, and watched.

Eric shook his head, his fists clenched in front of his face as he hit himself in the temple a few times with a balled fist, "Don't touch me!"

"We don't want to, but if you don't cooperate we're going to have to use force," One of the men said.

"I-I don't like being touched!" Eric stumbled over his words, his panic starting to get the best of him.

What the hell was going on? That was the only thing that was running through Jackie's mind at the moment.

"We know, just please come with us," The man said, staying calm.

Eric shook his head, "No! You're going to make me take that drug!"

"It's for the best, Eric," The man said back, "Now come here."

Eric saw the man's hand reach out for him, it was too close for comfort. Eric hardened his gaze at the man, not at all comfortable with this action.

"Come on, it's alright," The man said, and now his hand was way to close.

Eric grabbed the man's arm quickly, his chewed back fingernails digging into the man's flesh as he then bit him. Hard.

"Ah! Shit!" The man cried, but he couldn't get his arm away from Eric.

The other staff member jumped in. He pulled the chair out from behind Eric and grabbed him under his arms, making him release the other man. He pulled Eric out from under the table, Eric flailing the entire time and screaming at the both of them. The other man had to help, so he grabbed Eric's kicking legs and held onto him tightly.

"Get off of me!" Eric screamed, trying to kick and punch, but the other two were too strong, but Eric still yelled at them, "Fuck you! Let me go!"

Jackie was too shocked to move. She watched as a kicking and screaming Eric Forman was carried out of the rec room, probably going to get that sedation that Gordon said you would get if you went a little 'crazy.'

"I told you not to talk to him, honey," Joan, the older woman said from behind Jackie.

Jackie turned to look at her, but didn't say anything. She didn't know what to say. There was only one thing going through her head in that moment, and thing was: What the hell happened to Eric Forman?


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer – Read the first chapter's.

Jackie barely got any sleep that night. She couldn't get the thought of Eric out of her head. What was he doing here? What was wrong with him? When she saw him he seemed insane. He wasn't insane was he? No, he couldn't be. There would've been signs earlier in life that he was insane, he was always really nice when she knew him.

But why was he here?

Did he have a schizophrenic break? Was he manic? Maybe that was a manic episode? No, that was different from what Gordon described.

Jackie slept horribly that night, and it was obvious at breakfast that morning.

"How's it going, gorgeous?" Gordon asked as he suddenly sat down across from her at their table, then he winced, "Or should I say Frankenstein. Jeez, what the hell happened to you? You look like hell."

"Thanks Gordon," Jackie said sarcastically, feeling more depressed than usual today, "I didn't sleep well, that's all."

"Yeah, it's obvious," Gordon said, looking the girl up and down, "Insomnia?"

Jackie shook her head, "No, something happened last night that kept me up."

"Well, what's this something?" Gordon asked curiously as he began to eat his cereal.

"Well, I was in the rec room trying to read a magazine and I saw this guy in there, and—"

"Wait. You met Eric?" Gordon asked, a small smile on his face.

Jackie dropped his shoulders in surprise, "You know him?"

Gordon nodded, "Yeah, he's my roommate. He had a meltdown last night. I'm assuming you saw it."

Jackie nodded, "Yeah… I did…"

"You've never seen anything like that before, have you?" Gordon asked, eating another spoonful of cereal, "Is that why you were up all night?"

Jackie shook her head, but then second-guessed herself, "Well, that's part of it, but that's not the complete reason… I sort of knew Eric in high school."

Now it was Gordon's turn to look surprised, "What? Really? Like, did you know him well, or was it more of a you passed him in the hallway sort of deal."

Jackie shook her head, "No, I knew him. I used to hang out in his basement every day with my other friends."

"Wow," Gordon said, smiling, "Life's crazy, eh?"

Jackie nodded as she played with her food, "So… What's wrong with him?"

"Where do I begin?" Gordon said with a smile as he started listing things off on his fingers, "Depression, anxiety, he used to self-harm, slight OCD, and ODD. The kid's all fucked up."

Jackie was curious. What happened to him? He used to be so happy. He was always so nice and kind of funny. She would have never pictured this happening to him.

"Are there reasons why he's like this?" Jackie asked, but Gordon shook his head.

"I'm not going to tell you all of that," Gordon replied, returning to eating his food, "He'll tell you eventually, you just got to be patient."

Jackie nodded and released a sigh. She figured as much. She continued to pick at her food as Gordon ate his. She didn't start eating until a nurse came by and ordered her to. Her appetite was slack today, more so than usual, so she ate half of her meal, which the nurses accepted.

After breakfast was over, Jackie had a little free time before therapy, so she decided she'd go to the rec room again and try to finish reading that magazine.

"I'll see you later, Gordon," Jackie said, standing and grabbing her tray.

"Alright," Gordon said, waving at her, "Good luck in your session."

"Thanks," Jackie forced a smile before she turned and went to the trash can.

She placed her tray down and quickly left the kitchen, going to the rec room. She was escorted by a nurse, she had to be. All the depressives were kept a close eye on after they ate, they wanted to make sure they didn't force themselves to be sick.

Jackie got to the rec room quickly and quietly, deciding to not try and make conversation with the nurse. She didn't really want to anyway.

She went into the rec room and the nurse stayed outside of the room, but he stood by the door, keeping a close eye on her. Jackie looked around the room and realized that the magazine was still lying on the table where she set it down last night, but she didn't care about the magazine anymore, because she saw just who she was hoping to see sitting at that same table.

Eric was sitting there in his own little bubble, reading a thick book. He had both his elbows rested on the tabletop and he sort of hunched over the book. Jackie could see his lips moving, he was silently reading to himself.

Jackie slowly approached the table, a little nervous now. Her heart was beating a little faster now, her breathing shallow. She didn't know what to say to him. Did he even remember what happened last night? Jackie stopped in front of the table, looking down at him; he didn't even notice her.

"Hi," Jackie said quietly, making Eric flinch.

He brought his head up a little, his hazel colored eyes flicking up to look into Jackie's. He looked annoyed, and very tired, "Jackie…"

"Eric," She said back, her fingers latching around the back of a chair, "H-how are you?"

She really didn't know what to say.

"Fine," He said, tapping the table with his fingers anxiously, "You?"

"Fine," Jackie said in return.

Should she sit down? Would he be okay with that? She wanted to ask him so many questions, but would he be open for that?

"Do you mind if I…" She didn't finish, figuring he'd get the gist of what she was trying to ask.

He was silent, but she shrugged. Jackie pulled out a chair and sat down, and they both stayed quiet for a minute. She tried to see what it was he was reading, she saw some numbers on the page, some equations. This made her curious.

"What're you reading?" Jackie asked.

"It's just a math textbook," Eric replied, trying to avoid her eyes.

"You like math?" Jackie asked, trying to seem friendly.

Eric shrugged, staying silent. Jackie gazed at him curiously, taking in his appearance. He looked like the same old Eric Forman. He was a paler though, and he had dark circles under his eyes. Really dark circles. His hair was a mess and little longer, it stuck up in all different directions. He was still thin, that hasn't changed. He was wearing a plastic headband in his hair, which peaked Jackie's curiosity.

"Why're you wearing a headband?" Jackie asked, pointing to the plastic piece that held his bangs back from his face. She only asked because it was a woman's headband. It wasn't a sports band, it was just a hair accessory.

Eric reached up and adjusted it a little bit, feeling a bit awkward now, "It's my mom's. It got tangled up in my stuff. It's the only thing that reminds me of home."

Well, that sort of made sense. But wearing it? Jackie shrugged it off, deciding not to push him.

"So, why are you here?" Eric suddenly asked, keeping his gaze anywhere but on Jackie.

"Why are you here?" Jackie asked back.

Eric shook his head, wincing a little, as if in pain, "No, I asked you first."

Jackie sighed and slumped her shoulders, looking down at her hands now in her lap, twiddling her thumbs, "I cut myself. I'm depressed according to my therapist."

Eric looked up at Jackie as she raised her hand, presenting her bandaged wrist. He felt a little more comfortable now that she was sharing some of this. He released a tense breath and relaxed his shoulders a little, but only a little.

"What about you?" Jackie asked, even though she already knew.

"Same thing," Eric said, avoiding her eyes as she brought them back up to look at him. Eric tapped the tabletop a little rougher now, "So… You saw what happened last night?"

Jackie slumped her shoulders, but nodded, "Yeah… I did…"

Now Eric seemed embarrassed. He bowed his head further, his hand's moving quickly against the hard table top. Jackie looked down at his hands, seeing his scabbed knuckles, one of them bleeding now.

"Uh, Eric," Jackie said, but he didn't hear her.

She reached out slowly to grab his hand, trying to get him to stop. She just barely brushed her fingers across the back of his hand when he jerked his arm away from her, sort of glaring up at her, both fear and anger in his eyes.

"Sorry," Jackie said, pulling her hand away from him, a little embarrassed herself now.

Eric released a tense breath and slowly put his hands down, keeping them by his sides now, away from anyone's reach. Jackie kept her hands back now as well, remembering last night Eric yelled at the nurses, telling them he didn't like being touched.

Jackie was confused and concerned. She wanted so bad to know why Eric was the way he was now. What happened?

"Sorry you had to see all that…" Eric suddenly spoke again, his fingers clawing at the side of his chair now.

Jackie gazed over at him in curiosity, "See what?"

"You know… My breakdown last night…" His face was a little pink with embarrassment.

Jackie shook her head, "No, that's okay…"

She didn't really know what to say to that. She wanted to ask him the obvious question, but she was afraid to even start.

"So… Are there reasons you're depressed, or…" Eric went on, deciding to ask her instead.

"Well…" Should she tell him? Maybe just a little bit, "It's just some family issues. My mom, she's… Well, she's my mother… I'm kind of poor… I don't have any friends, really. Well, besides Steven."

"How's he doing?" Eric asked curiously, finally flicking his eyes up to meet Jackie's.

She smiled softly, but it still looked forced like most of her smiles these days, "He's fine. He owns a record store. He loves it."

Eric nodded, "Cool… Have you, uh… Spoken to my parents at all recently?"

Jackie shook her head and frowned now, "No… But Steven calls them sometimes. They're doing fine. He tells me they're worried about you."

Eric looked alarmed now, "They don't know I'm here do they?"

Jackie shook her head when she saw Eric's shoulders tense and he gazed across at her with those crazy eyes, "No, I don't think so…"

Eric relaxed a little now, avoiding her eyes again. Should she ask him now. If he told her, he told her. If he didn't, he didn't. Did it really hurt to try?

"So… Why are you here? Is there any reason behind that?" Jackie asked curiously.

Eric furrowed his brow and his face displayed an emotion that Jackie could not identify, but he shook his head a moment later, "I don't want to talk about it."

"Are you sure, because—"

"I don't want to talk about it," Eric snapped, his hands gripping the edge of the table, his eyes still focused on the tabletop.

Jackie flinched at his tone, but got the message. She got quiet and looked down at her hands again. Well, that was that. She'd have to do what Gordon told her to do and just be patient. He'd tell her eventually, she'd just have to build some trust there. He obviously didn't trust her. She did spend most of her life being a complete bitch to him.

"Well, uh… I'll just leave you to it, then," Jackie said, starting to stand. She noticed a brief look of pleading flash across his face, then prompting her say, "Maybe I'll see you at lunch? I sit with Gordon, so if you want to join us, that'd be cool…"

Eric's features softened finally and he relaxed his shoulders and nodded, "Yeah, okay… Maybe…"

Jackie nodded and pushed her chair back in, "Well… I guess I'll see you later."

"Okay," Eric said, looking back down at his book again.

It was obvious he wasn't going to say anything else, so she just stood and walked away.

0-0-0-0-0

"So, how was your first day?" Julia asked Jackie as she attended her first 'official' therapy session.

Jackie shrugged, her hands clenched in her lap, "It was okay, I guess."

"I heard you threw up dinner," Julia said.

Jackie nodded, "Yeah. I'm not used to putting that much food on my stomach. I've just got to get used to it."

"Well, as long as you didn't force yourself to be sick," Julia offered an encouraging smile as she wrote something down in her book, "Have you made any friends?"

Jackie shrugged, "Well… I've been hanging out with that Gordon kid that gave me the tour yesterday. And my roommate, Josie."

Julia shrugged, "They're both very sweet, aren't they?"

Jackie smiled a little, "Yeah, they're nice."

Julia was silent for a moment before she said, "Mrs. Goldstein told me you saw one of our residents have an episode last night. Is this true?"

Jackie looked up at her therapist finally, taking a moment to answer. She eventually nodded, "Yeah, that's right."

"How did that make you feel?" Julia asked the typical therapist question.

Jackie shrugged again, "I don't know… A little scared, I guess. I've never seen anything like that before."

Julia nodded, "And do you know this resident?"

Jackie furrowed her brow curiously, "How'd you know?"

"Your reaction to my question," Julia smiled softly, "Are you two close?"

Jackie shrugged, not really sure how to say what she wanted to say, "Well, not really… I knew him in high school. I used to hang out at his house every day, but some of my other friends were there, too… I didn't really get along with him all that well back then."

"But seeing him here made you feel something. What was it?" Julia asked.

"I don't know…" Jackie said, flicking her fingers anxiously, "Concerned. Confused. He was always so happy as a teenager, I just want to know what happened to him."

"Eric is one of my patients," Julia said, and that sparked Jackie's attention.

"Really?" She asked, leaning forward a bit, "Well… What's wrong with him?"

"I'm not authorized to tell you that," Julia said, "It's confidential. But I can tell you that that boy is very fragile. You can't push him. It took me two weeks to even get a word out of him. And it took me several months just to get him to open up, and I know he still hasn't told me everything. You have to be careful with him. If there's anything I've learned about him, it's that he has trust issues."

Was Julia giving her advice on how to talk to Eric?

"So… Just talk to him? Get him on your good side?" Jackie asked.

Julia shook her head, "You have to really want to talk to him, Jackie. You can't just fake your way through it, that would damage him even further, and Lord knows we don't need that."

Jackie nodded, giving her therapist a sincere look, "I really want to know what happened."

Julia smiled and nodded, "I know."

0-0-0-0-0

On the menu for lunch that day was meatloaf, green beans, and mashed potatoes. It wasn't Jackie's favorite, but she had to eat it. So she sat there with Gordon and Josie, picking at her food and every once and a while taking a bite.

"How was your day?" Gordon asked brightly as he scarfed down his food as usual.

Jackie shrugged, "Okay, I guess…"

"Josie, how about you?" Gordon asked his other friend, who shrugged like Jackie did.

"Same as usual," She replied.

Gordon frowned and looked between the two girls, "Jeez, tough crowd."

The girls remained silent. Gordon was the only happy person Jackie had met so far, everyone else was depressed, anxious, or paranoid. Well, half the people here were depressives, and about twenty percent of them were paranoid and anxious, like Josie.

Gordon was pushed out of his little trance when he heard somebody clear their throat next to their table. He looked up and saw his roommate Eric standing there, a tray of food in his hands, looking anxious as hell.

"Eric, you actually want to sit with somebody today?" Gordon asked with a smile.

When Gordon spoke, both Jackie and Josie looked up and saw Eric standing over them. He nodded at Gordon's question and Gordon quickly switched seats and let Eric sit across from Jackie. Eric sat down and put his tray of food on the table in front of him, fully aware that all eyes were on him.

He looked up at everybody, his anxiety building up inside him. This wasn't a good idea.

"What's with the hairband?" Josie asked curiously, pointing to the thin plastic piece pushing his bangs back, making his hair look more disheveled than it should.

Gordon answered for him, "He wears it because it reminds him of his mother. It's probably the only thing really keeping him sane."

Josie sort of smiled at that, "Well, that's sweet."

Eric gazed at the girl curiously for a moment, then he let himself smile the smallest of smiles. He was expecting to get teased for it, like he usually did, but he was pleasantly surprised.

"Yeah, I wish I had something to remind me of home," Gordon said, seemingly a little disgruntled now, "I didn't even think of that before I came here."

Jackie sort of wished that now, too. She didn't bring anything besides the necessities with her. She gazed across at Eric who was slowly eating his meal. Get him to trust you. Her therapist's words where cycling through her head on repeat.

Josie looked between Eric and Jackie after she noticed Jackie's gaze on Eric. She seemed tense, like she wanted to say something, but was too afraid to say it.

"Hey Gordon, could you help me with something… Over there?" Josie suddenly asked the oblivious boy sitting across from her who was nearly finished eating.

He looked across at her curiously, "Help you with what?"

"You know with the… Thing," Josie then stood, grabbing her tray with one hand, and Gordon's wrist in the other, "Come on."

Gordon huffed and grabbed his food, standing and following Josie, "Fine. Jeez, you women…"

Jackie watched the two go, Eric doing the same thing. What the hell was all that about? Jackie shook her head and looked back over at Eric. He was back to his defensive state. He was hunched in on himself, his arms guarding his good, as if he thought somebody was going to take it from him. He seemed to be in this defensive state often.

Jackie sighed, trying to get the words to come out of her mouth, but she seemed to be having a hard time for some reason.

"Look Eric, I'm… I'm sorry about earlier," Jackie started, garnering his attention, "For asking about, well… You know…"

Eric slumped his shoulders and said, "That's okay."

She still felt like it wasn't.

"Are you sure? I didn't mean to upset you, but I felt like I did," Jackie said anxiously, hoping he would forgive her.

"Really Jackie, it's fine," Eric said, not looking up at her, "I shouldn't have snapped like that. You were just curious."

"I shouldn't have even asked you in the first place," Jackie admitted, leaning back in her seat awkwardly, "It was rude. You'll just tell me when you're ready… I'll be patient. I won't push you."

Eric caught her eyes finally, the corner of his mouth twitching a bit, "Thanks."

Jackie smiled a little, "No problem."

The two then ate in silence, both of them a little more relaxed now. Jackie would wait, like she said. She didn't want to push him, she knew he was easy to break, like Julia told her. She wanted desperately to know what had happened to him, but she could do this. She could be patient. She just wanted him to trust her right now, that was her mission.

And so it began.


	5. Chapter 5

A/N – Thanks to Novakovic and Marla's Lost for the reviews. :) This chapter's a bit longer, but I'm sure you guys don't mind. I hope you like it.

Disclaimer – Read the first chapter's.

Four days later on Monday morning, Jackie had group therapy. She's almost been here a week now and she was starting to get used to it, but this was her first group therapy session, she didn't really know how these things operated.

She walked with her roommate Josie there, both of them stayed silent the whole time. What was group therapy like? She wondered. She felt like it was just a weird pool of emotions, either that or just a group of stubborn people.

Probably the latter.

Jackie and Josie walked into the rec room, where the therapy session was taking place, and they each sat down wherever they could, which was right next to each other. They sat on one of the couches with Gordon, all of them sort of squished up against one another.

"So… Is this going to take long, or…?" Jackie asked. She didn't feel like sitting here for an hour telling a dozen people plus a therapist how she felt, and she wasn't really that much interested in anybody else's story either. Maybe except for Eric's, who was sitting in a chair by himself.

Gordon shook his head, "It depends."

"On what?" Jackie asked, her arms crossed over her chest in a defensive way.

"On who has feelings today," Gordon said, looking around the room, "Sometimes people get a little over the top, but hey, maybe we'll get lucky and somebody will have a mental breakdown and cut the meeting short."

It was weird that Gordon was hoping somebody would have a 'mental breakdown.'

Jackie sat back when the therapist came over to them, and she recognized her as the older woman in here the other night who was reading the book. Joan Goldstein. That's what Julia called her.

"How's everybody doing this morning?" Joan asked as she took a seat in the middle so she could see everyone.

The response was mixed and pretty much everyone sounded like they didn't want to be here. Joan got settled in her seat, her notebook lying in her lap, a ballpoint pen in her hand as she gazed around the room at everyone behind her little round glasses.

"I see we have a newcomer today," Joan smiled over at Jackie, causing everyone else to look over at her, which made her really uncomfortable, "Would you like to introduce yourself?"

Jackie shrugged, "I guess…"

Joan smiled and said, "Say your name, age, and reason you're here."

Jackie sighed and sat up a little, a frown on her face as she spoke, "My name's Jackie Burkhart, I'm twenty-one years old, and I'm here for depression and self-harm."

Joan smiled at the girl as she sat back against the couch, her arms still crossed, "Hello Jackie."

As everyone else said hello Jackie, she felt weird. This was feeling like some sort of creepy cult, and that Joan woman made it even creepier with her almost menacing grin.

Jackie wished she could sink back into these couch cushions and just disappear.

"Alright, since you're new, we'll start with you," Joan said, adjusting her book in her lap, "Would you like to tell the group a brief summary of how you got here."

Jackie shrugged and sighed again. She then went on to explain in brief how she cut herself in the bathroom and almost died, and then she was admitted here after a week in the hospital. It was a pretty generic story, most of the people here probably had a story similar to that one.

After Jackie was finished talking about herself, Joan went on to asking questions about other people's progression and how they were feeling. Josie told her she still felt like she was insane and that she felt like someone was always watching her, but Joan remarked at how well Joan seemed to handling herself now.

Gordon said he felt happy and wished he could get out of here, but he still had a guaranteed six weeks here. If he didn't act up in that time he would be able to walk free, which he seemed to be excited about.

Then it got around to Eric.

"How have you been feeling, Eric?" Joan asked the boy sitting in the chair by himself, his knees drawn up to his chest and his fingers pulling at the fabric of his jeans.

Eric shrugged, "The same."

"You don't feel like you've made any progress?" Joan asked curiously, there was a sliver of hope her ice cold eyes.

Eric shook his head, "How can I tell? I'm depressed, it all feels the same to me."

"Well… Have you tried calling and talking to your parents?" Joan asked, but she already knew the answer.

"No," Was all he said, his gaze hard, a hint of annoyance and anger in his eyes.

"I'm sure they're very worried about you," Joan tried.

"I know," Eric said, glaring at her as he scratched at his leg, "But that doesn't mean I have to call them."

Ouch. Harsh.

"Eric, I really think you should call them," Gordon said, trying to intervene.

Eric snapped his gaze over to Gordon, "I don't want to, okay? Get off my back."

Gordon got quiet and looked down at his feet irritably, crossing his arms over his chest. He knew Eric best out of anyone in this hospital, he obviously knew arguing with him further wasn't going to change his mind.

"Eric, try to calm down," Joan said, noticing how irritable he was becoming.

Eric closed his eyes and sucked in a deep breath before he released it, then he held out his hands in front of him and said, "I'm calm."

"Okay," Joan said, watching him closely, "Now, to all of you. I want you to look back on your life, find a happy moment."

Everybody seemed annoyed by this. They did this every time somebody got a little frustrated or upset, it was annoying. After everyone was quiet and back to normal, Joan looked around the entire room.

"Alright, when you look back through your memories, is there anything you wish you could have done differently?" Joan asked, looking around at them all, "Something that would have changed all of this?"

"I wish I hadn't of moved out so soon," Josie said, raising her hand, then she shrugged, "Maybe then my mom could have seen what was wrong with me and this could have been handled sooner."

Joan smiled, "That's very good, Josie. Anybody else."

As everybody around them started listing off things they would've done different, Jackie looked over at Eric. He was tapping his foot anxiously, his arms still crossed as he gazed somewhere behind Jackie, his eyes holding many different emotions. He looked like he was starting to panic. Jackie furrowed her brow curiously and looked over her shoulder to see what Eric was looking at. She saw a nurse handing folders to another staff member.

Was it her? Was he looking at her?

Jackie looked back at Eric, trying to follow his gaze. She looked back over her shoulder at the nurse and when she turned to leave she looked in their direction, and she sort of offered a weird flirty type smile Eric's way, then she turned and left.

Jackie looked back to Eric, who had focused his gaze elsewhere, but he looked like he was about to lose it.

"I wish you weren't such a dick!" One man said to another. What the hell had she missed?

"At least I have one!" Gordon shouted back, standing now and smiling smugly at the other man.

"Shut up, Gordon!" He yelled back.

What the hell?

"Gordon. Remi. Please, sit down," Joan pleaded calmly, gazing up at the two shouting boys.

"Would you all be quiet?!" The tall man cried, covering his ears and closing his eyes.

It was a mad house in here now.

"I wish you'd shut your mouth for once!" Remi shouted at Gordon.

"Boys," Joan pleaded once more.

"I wish you'd get a life!" Gordon snapped back.

"I wish I had killed myself before I could even come here!" Eric suddenly cried, glaring across the room at everyone.

Everyone got quiet at that, all eyes now on Eric as he started to rub his eyes vigorously.

"Eric?" Joan said, trying to keep her emotions in check.

"God… What the hell is wrong with me?" He asked himself as he continued to rub his eyes, as if to keep himself from getting hysterical.

"There's nothing wrong with you," Joan tried, softening her gaze at the upset and panicked boy, "You just need a little help."

"No, you don't understand…" Eric complained, scratching his face now.

"What don't I understand?" She asked curiously, hoping she might be getting somewhere.

"I'm so alone… I don't know what to do with myself…" Eric went on, avoiding everyone's gaze, "I wish I was dead…"

He was starting to come unglued now, somebody had to do something. Gordon suddenly stood and stepped over to Eric gently, but Joan looked up at him and said, "Gordon, no touching."

"Let me break it just this once, Ms. Goldstein," Gordon said before he looked back at Eric and knelt down so he could see him properly, "Hey, Eric, look at me."

Gordon gently tried grabbing Eric's arms, but Eric pushed him away, "Don't touch me."

"Okay, okay…" Gordon said, keeping his hands to himself, "Just… Try to calm down. You're okay."

Eric shook his head, hunching in on himself, not wanting anyone to see him like this. He wanted to leave.

Gordon looked back at Joan, a sympathetic look on his face, "Ms. Goldstein, he's not going to calm down in here. Can I take him back to our room?"

Joan looked down at her watch. There was only a few minutes left anyway, "Okay, but you have to be escorted… Mrs. Shaw."

Joan waved over that weird nurse that Eric had previously been looking at, and Eric obviously tensed at just the mere sound of her name being called. The nurse smiled brightly and walked over to the circle, looking down at Joan, "Yes, Ms. Goldstein?"

"Please, escort Gordon and Eric to their room, thank you," Joan ordered, and Mrs. Shaw nodded.

"Yes ma'am," She then turned to the two boys, "Come on, follow me."

The two then followed the nurse, Gordon staying very close to Eric, as if for protection. Jackie watched them go, but she was brought back to the circle when Joan spoke again, "Alright then, where were we?"

0-0-0-0-0

She had to do this. She hasn't called in over a week, she'd want to know how she was. Jackie picked up the phone and dialed the number, not at all looking forward to this. She held the phone up to her ear, waiting for them to pick up, which only took a moment.

"Hello?" Her mother's voice said on the other end of the line.

Jackie was quiet for a moment, feeling nervous for some reason. Come on, Jackie, it's just your mother. Jackie inhaled a sharp breath and swallowed shakily as her mother spoke again, "Hello?"

Jackie released that sharp breath and finally spoke, "Hi mom…"

"Jackie?" Pam said, sounding frantic and a little worried, "How are you? Is everything okay?"

Jackie nodded, "Yeah, everything's… Everything's fine… H-how're you?"

"I'm fine, but… How's the hospital? Is it nice?" Pam asked curiously.

Jackie shrugged, finally starting to relax a little, "Yeah, it's okay… The people here are nice."

"Have you made any friends?" Pam asked.

"Yeah… A couple," Jackie replied, "Have you heard from dad?"

It was quiet for a moment and then Pam said, "Yeah… He called me two days ago…"

"Did you tell him where I was?" Jackie asked, kind of hoping she hadn't.

"Yes…" Pam replied, making Jackie's heart sink. Great.

"Oh…" Was all she said though. She wanted to lash out at her mother, just one time. She wanted to tell her how she really felt about everything, but she was too afraid.

"He told me to tell you he loves you and he hopes you get better soon so you can come and see him," Pam said.

It made Jackie smile a little bit.

"Well, I—" But Jackie was cut off when a man came over to her, looking anxious.

She looked over at him curiously as he flapped his hands and said, "Are you almost done?"

Jackie covered the mouthpiece with her hand and looked at him, "Yeah, just hang on a minute."

"Jackie? Are you okay?" Pam asked in a concerned way.

"Yeah, mom, I'm fine," Jackie said, inching away from the fidgety man.

"It's urgent," The man complained, his face displaying nervousness.

Jackie sighed and told her mother, "Mom, I got to go. I've only got a few minutes at a time to use the phone, so…"

"Well, okay, just… Keep your head up," Pam said, actually sounding genuine, "I love you, sweetheart."

Jackie looked down at her feet nervously, "I love you, too, mom."

The two women said their goodbyes and Jackie hung up the phone, turning to the anxious man now, "There. Call away."

Jackie moved out of the way and let the man get to the phone, walking down the hall towards her room.

0-0-0-0-0

"It's pretty nice out today, eh?" Gordon said to Jackie as they both walked around in the courtyard.

They had a nice outdoor area here. There were a few trees, some flowerbeds, and there were some places to sit down and also some areas they used to play sports or other outdoor activities. It was warm out today, but not too warm. It was just right.

Gordon looked over at Jackie, noticing how quiet she had been today. He cocked an eyebrow and said, "What's up with you today? You seem more depressed than usual."

Jackie looked up at Gordon briefly, then she shrugged, "Sorry, I've just got a lot on my plate right now."

"Still haven't confronted those issues, huh?" Gordon asked.

Jackie shook her head, "I wasn't expecting to make that much progress in just a week."

Gordon nodded, "Yeah, I know. It took me a few months just to start feeling better, but I guess it's different for me. I have medication that can just sort of fix my problems… Well, to an extent anyway. But you… You're problems are still there, even if you do take anti-depressants."

"I just don't understand why it all went wrong…" Jackie complained, kicking at a pebble on the ground.

Gordon looked over at her curiously, "You don't have to answer, I just want to ask you… What happened exactly?"

Jackie shook her head, "I'm sorry… It's really just a lot of things and I don't feel comfortable talking about it right now…"

Gordon nodded, "Well, it didn't hurt to try."

Jackie smiled a little at Gordon now, "Everybody'll know eventually."

Gordon smiled at her brightly, "I know. When you're ready, you're ready."

Jackie smiled sweetly, "Thanks."

He smiled at her, but stayed silent as they continued to walk around outside. There were a few other residents out here, and of course some nurses and staff. Everybody seemed a little happier out here. The birds were chirping, the leaves were rustling from the slight and gentle breeze. It was really relaxing.

"How's Eric?" Jackie asked Gordon suddenly.

He looked over at her briefly before he shrugged, "He's fine. He just had a panic attack."

"That's what that was?" Jackie asked.

Gordon nodded, "Yeah… They just sort of happen out of nowhere. Trust me, I would know."

Jackie didn't have a lot of panic attacks surprisingly, and when she did, there always seemed to be good reason for it.

"Does he have these often?" Jackie asked, having seen him have some sort of breakdown twice now.

Gordon shrugged, "I guess it depends. Sometimes he'll have a stretch where he's fine, and then he falls back into a slump again."

"I wonder what happened…" Jackie said more to herself than to Gordon.

Gordon shrugged, "I only know a little bit, but… There is something else. Something he's not telling anybody."

Jackie thought back to earlier during group therapy, when that one nurse came in. Mrs. Shaw. She seemed weird, and Eric seemed uncomfortable to be around her. But why?

"I thought I was depressed…" Jackie said. She felt out of place here, she wasn't like everyone else. She was depressed, but not like these other people. Her problems seemed to be inferior to everyone else's. She probably shouldn't feel that way, but she did.

"Don't do that," Gordon said.

"Don't do what?" Jackie asked curiously, gazing over at him.

"A lot of people that come here do that," Gordon said, shaking his head, looking into Jackie's hazel eyes with his own blue ones, "They tell themselves their problems aren't as bad because somebody else has it worse."

"Well, it feels like that…" Jackie said, shrugging.

"Jackie, don't do that to yourself," Gordon urged, stopping in his tracks to look over at Jackie, "You need to be here, I don't doubt that. Eric is one of the worst depressives I've ever seen. Don't compare your problems to his."

Jackie sighed and looked down at her feet, but she stayed silent. She didn't know what to say.

"You cut your wrist," Gordon went on, looking down at Jackie's arm. The bandage was gone, but the stitches were still there, "You may not have been trying to kill yourself, but you were progressing. You started to self-harm and… You don't need to go down that path. You don't want to live with that baggage."

Jackie gazed over at him curiously, remembering his arms were all cut up. When she first met him, he seemed to be proud of himself. He didn't seem bothered by his scars, but it appeared Gordon was more than just the happy go lucky mask he always wore.

"These scars may be a blessing," Gordon said, pulling up his sleeve a little bit and revealing the many scars on his arm, "But they're also a curse. They remind me of a time when I was depressed, and they make me realize how far I've come, but they're also there for me to explain to everyone why I have them. Do you know how hard it is to explain to your date why you have all these marks on your body?"

Jackie averted his gaze, looking down at her feet nervously.

"Don't follow that path," Gordon said, dropping his sleeve. This is as serious as Jackie's ever seen him, "And don't tell yourself your problems don't matter because others have it a little worse. You start doing that and you follow that path you'd rather not go down."

Jackie looked back up at Gordon and nodded, trying to keep her emotions in check, "Okay. I'll stop. I promise."

Gordon offered her a small smile, but then he noticed her watery eyes. He kept his smile on his face, but he opened his arms for her. She smiled sadly and let him hug her, really needing this right now. She rested her head on his shoulder and he hugged her tight, just trying to make her feel a little better. She felt the tears running down her face now and she realized this was the first time she's actually cried here. She's wanted to cry all week, just to let everything out, but she was trying to put up a hard front, like she always did. But she broke after a while, she could only hold it in for so long.

So she just stood there and cried, finally letting all her emotions out.

0-0-0-0-0

The TV room was usually pretty empty before eight o'clock. Everybody waited for the new programs to come on, and while waiting they hung around in the rec room or outside. Jackie wasn't really into the TV too much though, she never really joined everyone for the nighttime programs. She usually went back to her room early or went to the rec room to read magazines, which she was quickly running out of.

But she went to the TV room tonight, because Gordon told her that Eric went there before the crowd came in. He watched Gilligan's Island every night before the primetime shows came on.

Jackie walked into the TV room about fifteen minutes into Gilligan's Island, and as expected, Eric was sitting in the room watching the screen intently. He's probably seen this episode a thousand times, but he still seemed entertained.

"Good episode?" Jackie asked as she stopped in the doorway of the room.

Eric looked up at the sound of somebody else's voice, but quickly looked back to the TV, "Yeah."

Jackie entered the room, looking around at everything briefly before she looked back down at her old friend, "Why are you sitting on the floor?"

There was a couch just behind him.

Eric shrugged, "The couch is uncomfortable. There's a loose spring."

Jackie nodded and approached him slowly, and she noticed him tense as she got closer. She stopped just a foot away from him and she asked with a small, sort of comforting smile, "Do you mind if I sit here?"

Eric looked up at her briefly and shrugged, "Sure."

Jackie gently sat down next to Eric, but she wasn't too close, she didn't want to make him uncomfortable. Jackie looked up at the TV, watching it for a moment. Gilligan's Island was always a weird show to Jackie, but all of her friend's always seemed to enjoy it, so she always suffered through it.

Jackie looked back over at Eric, wanting to say something. She hasn't seen him since group this morning, she didn't see him at lunch or dinner. She hasn't even seen him in the rec room today, which was where he usually was. It's as if he's been avoiding her.

"How's your time been here so far?" Eric surprised her when he spoke first.

She looked up at him. He wasn't looking at her, he was still looking at the TV, but he had still spoke to her. Jackie shrugged after a moment, "It's been okay… It's a lot nicer than I would have imagined."

Eric nodded, "Yeah, I think everybody thinks that before they get here."

Jackie nodded and looked down at her hands in her lap before she looked back up at Eric. His hair was still a mess, the hairband still pushing his bangs up. It made his hair look more all over the place than anything. Gordon told her Eric got teased a lot for the headband, but he still wore it. It made him feel better.

"How're you feeling?" Jackie asked nervously. Eric didn't seem like the kind of guy who really liked talking about his feelings, he's made that pretty clear.

Eric shrugged, but his shoulders did tense a bit at the question, "Fine."

She had a burning question she wanted to ask him, but she wasn't sure when the right time was to ask it.

"I talked to Steven yesterday," Jackie said, and Eric glanced at her out the corner of his eye, "He told me how your parents were doing…"

Eric looked over at her completely now, a glimmer of hope in his eyes, "How're they doing?"

"Good," Jackie said, "He said they're getting worried though. They haven't heard from you in a while."

Eric then looked down at his hands in his lap, his legs crossed. Jackie looked at him curiously, watching as he slowly pulled at his pant leg.

"When's the last time you called them?" Jackie asked. She felt like this was a question her therapist would ask.

Eric shrugged, "Two weeks, I think…"

Jackie looked down at her hands now. Two weeks? Gordon told her that Eric called his parents from here, but he never told them where he was. They were under the assumption that he was living in Milwaukee and was working a slum job at the moment, that's what he told them.

"You miss them," Jackie said. It was more of a statement than a question.

Eric sighed and adjusted the hairband in his hair, as if just touching it gave him a little comfort. Jackie noticed how tense he was, his flicking fingers tapping his leg a little faster now.

"They miss you, too," Jackie informed him, "Steven told me they want you to come and visit for Christmas."

Jackie saw a tear fall from Eric's face and hit the carpet underneath him; he quickly wiped his eyes of tears.

Jackie sighed, "Sorry…"

She felt bad now for making him cry. In the past couple of years she's softened up a bit. She's realized that not everything in life is about money. After her dad went bankrupt, everything she knew was gone. Her mother ran off with rich men all the time, she had all the money she could ask for. But Jackie… She didn't really have anything. It made her cherish the small moments in life that she used to miss because she was so caught up in her image.

"You know I tried killing myself a few weeks after I got here?" Eric surprised Jackie with that revelation.

She looked up at him in shock, her face holding nothing but sadness now, "You what?"

Eric sniffled and wiped his nose with his sleeve, "Those pills they give you, I knew how to fake taking them. I stored them for a while and when I had enough I overdosed. They had to pump my stomach, I was miserable. I was on constant suicide watch."

"Are you still on suicide watch?" Jackie asked.

Eric shook his head, "No. The only way I'd be able to kill myself is if I overdosed. I'm the reason they do a thorough check of everyone's rooms every week."

Well, there was something she didn't know.

"Earlier… When you said you should have killed yourself before you got here… You didn't actually try that, did you?" Jackie asked, praying to God he'd say no.

But he looked down, as if ashamed.

Jackie looked down at her lap again, not really sure what to say, then she remembered what she brought with her. It'd be perfect for right now.

"Eric, can I tell you something?" Jackie asked.

He shrugged, "Sure, I guess…"

"Well, I uh… I sort of broke the rules today," Jackie said.

"Did you touch somebody?" Eric asked.

"Well, yes, but that's not the rule I broke, no," Jackie said, "I committed theft today."

Eric furrowed his brow and glanced over at her, "What?"

Jackie smiled a little bit and reached up for the book she had brought in with her. Eric hadn't noticed she'd brought anything in. She grabbed it from off the table next to the couch and presented it to Eric.

"I know you're not allowed to take books from the rec room, but I thought if it made my friend happy, then I'll happily break the rules," Jackie said, looking down at the thick book she held in her hands, "You're always reading this in there, and it seems to calm you down. So… Here."

Jackie handed the book out to Eric, and he looked down at it quizzically, but Jackie saw his lips curve up into a small smile as he reached out and took the book from Jackie's hands. It was the math book he was always reading. Reading this book and trying to solve these long equations, they helped him. It focused his mind on something else, something that required his full attention. It got his mind off of worse things.

Eric looked up at Jackie and smiled, "Thanks Jackie."

She smiled sweetly back at him, just happy she had made him smile, "No problem."


	6. Chapter 6

A/N – Damn, I'm putting this chapters out fast. I've got a good streak going!

Disclaimer – Read the first chapter's.

Jackie was not having a good day. She woke up in a bad mad anyway, so pretty much every little thing annoyed her today. She didn't really open up or tell her therapist anything meaningful today, she was being snappy at her friends, she had an upset stomach, and then her mother decided to be a bitch.

Why was she always like this? She could never be normal.

Mothers were supposed to be nurturing and caring, they were supposed to always be by their children's side whenever they needed them. But no, not her mother. Her mother couldn't care less.

"I just don't understand how her brain comes up with these things and actually thinks they're good ideas!" Jackie snapped into the phone, an angry scowl on her face.

"Jackie, are you—" Steven said on the other line, trying to calm her, but she cut him off.

"Can't she just listen to me?! Just once?!" Jackie cried, feeling like she could just… Punch something!

"Jackie, calm down," Steven tried, his voice calm, "Don't get upset, you might get in trouble or something."

"Could you please be quiet?" A schizophrenic patient asked her as he stopped right beside her.

Jackie put her hand over the mouthpiece of the phone and glared at him, "I'm busy, Isiah. Go away."

Isiah seemed taken aback and he quickly slinked away and Jackie went back to talking to Steven, "I mean, really? What is wrong with her? I honestly think she should be the one in this hospital, not me!"

"Jackie—"

"I just wish she'd come and visit me, that way I can tell her how it is in person!" Jackie went off, cutting Steven off once more, "Oh, to see the look on her face when I went off! That'd be priceless!"

"Jackie!" Steven suddenly cried into the phone, making Jackie flinch.

She fumbled with the phone and nearly dropped it, but she caught it and put it back up to her ear, "Yes?"

"Lower your voice," Steven said, calmly now, "You are going to get in trouble."

Jackie sighed and nodded, "Yeah, I know. I'm sorry."

"Alright," Steven said, and she heard him sigh on the other line before he went on, "Maybe you should ask her to come and see you?"

"Steven, she told me she's thinking about going to Mexico again," Jackie said, "Why would she want to come and see me when Mexico's waiting?!"

"Jackie, what did I say about your voice?" Steven reminded her.

"Sorry. Lower it. Gotcha," Jackie said, releasing a tense breath. She did feel a little better though, venting her feelings like this, "I—"

"That's her, Mrs. Shaw, she's the one who was yelling," Isiah suddenly said, pointing an accusing finger at Jackie.

Jackie suddenly flicked her gaze over to Isiah and that weird nurse, "What?"

"Jackie, I think your call time is just about up," Mrs. Shaw said, her arms crossed over her chest almost irritably.

"Just, one minute…" Jackie said, holding up a finger.

"Now, Jackie," Mrs. Shaw warned.

Jackie sighed irritably and put the phone back to ear, "Sorry Steven, I got to go."

"It's because you were yelling isn't it?" Steven asked her sarcastically. She could just hear the smile in his voice.

Jackie rolled her eyes, "Goodbye, Steven."

Then she hung up the phone and turned towards Isiah and Mrs. Shaw, but she glared at the nurse more so before she walked past her. She didn't like that woman. There was something about her that made her suspicious.

Jackie walked back to her room in irritable silence.

0-0-0-0-0

It was group therapy on Wednesday morning. Breakfast that morning was pancakes and different fruits. It was pretty good. Jackie was still feeling annoyed today, mostly because of her mother. She was being such a bitch. Why would you go to Mexico when your daughter in a fucking mental hospital? Jackie was so pissed off, so much so that she might actually vent in group today.

"Alright, so where should we begin today?" Joan asked as she got comfortable in her usual spot.

Nobody spoke, but one guy did cough. Joan sighed and looked down at her book, but Gordon raised his hand, a smug smile on his face, "I'll go, Ms. Goldstein."

"Oh God…" Josie said, putting her head in her hand as a couple of other people chuckled.

Joan smiled at Gordon though and nodded, "Alright then, you go right on ahead."

"Alright," Gordon stood and suddenly faked a frown, putting a hand to his heart, "I've been feeling very sad lately. Things just don't seem to be going my way. I've tried so hard to figure out what it is, and I finally found my result just this morning at breakfast when I was watching my friend Josie over here eating a piece of sausage."

"Shut up, Gordon," Josie suddenly snapped at him, but she was smiling a little behind the annoyance.

"The feeling I am feeling isn't really a feeling at all," Gordon said, turning to address the entire group, "No, it's something different. It's a lack of sexual interaction."

"Okay Gordon, that's enough, please take your seat," Joan ordered, writing something down in her book.

"I know you're all feeling it, too!" Gordon cried, acting as if he were going to cry as he held up a finger, "The only way to solve all of this sexual tension is to participate in an all-inclusive orgy."

"Gordon, sit down!" Joan snapped at the boy.

Gordon smiled at Joan and pointed at her, "Come on, Joan. You secretly want it."

"Gordon!" She snapped back, glaring at him.

Gordon rolled his eyes and sat back down, a few of the patients chuckling at him. Even Eric had cracked a small smile.

"Does anyone else want to go?" Joan asked, having lost her patience a little, "And maybe, perhaps, taking it seriously this time?"

Some guy Jackie didn't know outside of group raised his hand and starting talking about his feelings, and Jackie sort of tuned out. He told the same story every time. He was bullied a lot in school for being overweight, he talked about finding a girlfriend, but then she dumped him, and he fell into depression, so here he was.

Everybody to the right of Jackie voiced their feelings, and then it came around Josie. She told everyone she was starting to feel a little better, she didn't constantly feel like somebody was out to get her, but there was still that lingering feeling of unwanted attention.

Then it was Jackie's turn.

"Jackie, you've been awfully quiet, is there something you'd like to share?" Joan asked her, snapping the girl out of her thoughts.

Jackie looked up at the older woman and then around at the room, feeling uncomfortable with all the attention on her now, "Uh, well…"

"It doesn't even have to be anything big," Joan assured with a smile, "Even something small that's bothering you is a start."

Jackie wanted to vent about her mother, maybe that would take a whole load off her shoulders. That'd be nice. Maybe for once she'd feel a sense of accomplishment.

"Actually," Jackie started, sitting up a little, "I'd like to talk about my mother."

Everyone seemed a little surprised by this. In the past week Jackie's been here nobody's ever heard her mention her family. If anyone asked her about her family, she'd quickly cut them off or refuse to answer the question. This was a shocker. To everyone.

"Well… Go ahead," Joan said, leaning forward a little in anticipation.

"Okay, well, I called her this morning before breakfast, because I just thought I should fill her in on how I've been and what's been going on lately," Jackie started, and everybody could see the obvious anger and annoyance in her eyes and tone, "I told her about my friends, I told her how my sessions were going, I told her I've been eating right and sleeping like I'm supposed to. And then…" Jackie sighed irritably before she went on, "And then she has the nerve to tell me, right in the middle of our conversation, that she's planning a trip to Mexico! I mean, come on! Your daughter is in a mental hospital after she nearly killed herself and you want to leave the fucking country?! What is wrong with her?!"

Joan scolded Jackie for her language, but she did so very quietly. Everyone in the room was surprised at her outburst, they didn't expect her to become so passionate about it.

"Okay, so you have some negative emotions about your mother," Joan said, seeming a little taken aback as she adjusted her book in her lap, "Can you tell me exactly what emotions you are feeling?"

Jackie glared at Joan, "I think it's pretty obvious!"

"Okay, calm down, I—"

"Why should I calm down?! You told me to tell everyone how I felt and now I need to calm down?!" Jackie cried, giving the woman an incredulous look.

"You should let everyone know how you feel, but you don't have to shout," Joan told her, trying to stay calm, "You have this tendency to—"

"No! You don't get to tell me how I operate! You don't know me!" Jackie snapped, "You don't know how I feel! None of you do! You've never had to block out all of the horrible thoughts running through your head, have you?! You've never had to lie about how you're really feeling, have you?! You've never had to explain to literally everyone you know why 'you're not the same old Jackie, anymore,' have you?! No, I didn't think so!"

Jackie then stood and walked around the couch, everyone looking after her as she went. Joan looked towards the doorway as Jackie left, and she called to the nurse, "Mrs. Shaw!"

The nurse looked at Joan and nodded, "I got her."

Then she followed after the angry, sobbing girl.

0-0-0-0-0

Jackie cried for she doesn't know how long that morning. She didn't stop until she had to go and eat lunch, and even then she still didn't feel better. Josie tried talking to her, but Jackie just told she didn't want to talk about it. Gordon tried cheering her up by cracking a few jokes, but that didn't even seem to work, and she always smiled at least at one of them.

But no, she stayed silent the entire lunch hour and ate her crappy cafeteria food. After she finished eating earlier than both of her friends, she got up and left, leaving them to converse alone. She just went on a walk around the hospital, not going anywhere in particular.

She went outside for a little while, thinking maybe that would relax her. It was a little cool today, the birds weren't chirping like they usually were and the breeze was a little heavier. She didn't stay out long, the gloomy day only captured her gloomy mood.

So she went back inside, walking down the halls around the girls rooms, and eventually she ended up in the rec room. She didn't grab a magazine this time, or a book, no. She sat down in her normal spot and just sat. She stared across the room, her knees drawn up to her chest. She was stuck inside her head, and her head was not the best place to be.

She thought about her mother. She thought about her father. She thought about all her friends, and she thought about her shitty life outside of this hospital that she'd be thrust right back into after she left. If it went anything like it previously did she'd be thrown right back in here again.

She missed her dad. She wanted to call him, but she was afraid. Her mother told her that she told him where she was. What if he was disappointed in her? He always wanted her to do something with her life, and that thing was not to become crazy.

She also missed her friends. What would they think of all of this?

Donna would understand. She was always really good at understanding things. Well, outside of relationships, anyway.

Fez would try to comfort her. He was good at stuff like that.

Michael wouldn't know what to say, he never did.

And Steven, he… He already understood and he was trying to help. He really was.

But her mother. She hated her. She can't stand her. She couldn't believe her.

Jackie tightened her arms around her knees and drew them closer to her chest, trying to stop the tears from coming, but it was too late. They streamed down her cheeks and she blinked hard, trying to stop them. She hid her face in her knees, her arms holding her legs tightly.

She cried for a minute, just letting everything out. Why was she like this? Why did they make her like this?

She sobbed quietly, not wanting anyone to hear her. There were a few nurses outside the door, and she really didn't want to talk to them right now, so she kept her sobs as suppressed as she could for as long as she could.

But then she felt a tiny almost unnoticeable tap on her bicep. She flinched a little and slowly brought her head up, looking over at her arm. She sniffled and wiped her eyes before she looked down at the couch cushion next to her and saw a little blue paper airplane lying there. She furrowed her brow and wiped her nose with her sleeve, as well as her eyes before she reached down and picked it up. There was writing on the wings of it.

 _'_ _Don't cry. I like it when you smile.'_

Jackie furrowed her brow further, curious as to who had thrown this at her. She pushed her glance up, looking for the one who wrote this and she spotted Eric standing across the room. He waved at her a little, looking a bit nervous.

Jackie felt a few more tears roll down her face just at the pure thought in this little note. Eric was having a hard time himself, but he still found it in the goodness of his heart to do something just as simple as this to make somebody else feel better.

She wiped her eyes again and offered a sad sort of smile at Eric who slowly approached her. She held the small, blue paper airplane in her fingers, looking down at it. She's never seen a more perfectly crafted paper airplane. It sort of made her smile.

She looked over and saw Eric sit down next to her, but at least a foot away so he wasn't touching her. She smiled and looked down at the airplane briefly before she giggled a little and looked up at Eric again, "This was sweet."

Eric smiled a tad, "You looked like you needed a little pick me up."

"I did," Jackie smiled sweetly, wiping the tears from her eyes, "Thank you."

Eric looked down at his hands in his lap as Jackie fiddled with the small paper airplane. She was definitely keeping this.

"I'm sorry for that episode I had earlier," Jackie apologized, feeling embarrassed about the whole thing now.

Eric shook his head, "Don't be sorry, that was a good thing… I could never do that, I'm not nearly that brave."

Jackie looked over at him curiously, "Well, of course, you are. You just tell yourself you're not so much you start to believe it."

Eric was always surprised with the words that came out of Jackie's mouth.

"You should become a psychologist," Eric remarked with a small smile, "You're really good at this."

Jackie sniffled and giggled a little, "Thanks."

They were silent for a moment, but it wasn't like it usually was. The silence was usually awkward, they were both always uncomfortable, but this was different. They seemed content this time, the both of them.

"Is all of that true?" Eric suddenly asked, hoping he wasn't intruding, "About your mom?"

Jackie frowned now and looked down at the airplane in her hands, but she nodded, "Yeah…"

Eric looked down at his hands again nervously. He hadn't just made it worse, had he?

"I'm sorry she's like that," Eric said, shaking his head, "I don't know what goes through her head when she comes up with some of these things."

Jackie nodded, "That's what I'm always thinking."

Eric noticed the tremor in Jackie's voice, she was starting to cry again. Eric turned to her a little as she choked back a sob. She brought her hands to her eyes and cried, "What is wrong with me? Why doesn't she love me?"

Eric felt his heart sink at that, "It's not your fault, Jackie."

"What could it be then?" Jackie asked, looking up at Eric, "It has to be something I did. What did I do?"

"Don't blame yourself," Eric tried, not really sure how to make this better, "It's not your fault… I know you don't believe me, but it can't be your fault."

"How do you know that?" Jackie asked through a sob.

"Because… What could a girl do that was so bad that her mother would ignore her for?" Eric asked, "She's just… She's just a cold hearted bitch."

Jackie was surprised at his words, her eyes flicked up to meet his. She never thought she'd see the day when Eric Forman was sticking up for her.

"She's the problem, not you," Eric went on, "You're not the problem, I know. Because… Because you've been the nicest person here that I've met. You know to make people feel better. You make people feel better, she makes people feel like dirt. You're great, Jackie, she just can't see that."

Wow. Eric was pretty good at this, too.

She wanted to hug him, but she knew how he felt about all of that. So she sat there awkwardly, sniffling and trying to stop herself from crying. She then felt the faintest touch on her fingers and looked down to see Eric had gently grabbed her hand. He barely had a hold on it, his touch was as light as a feather, but he was touching her. This was a big step for him, Jackie was sure. She was a little proud, but this also made her feel a little better, too. She smiled at him sweetly and gently squeezed his fingers, giving him fair warning before she did so.

Jackie felt better now than she had all day. How had he done that? Jackie talked to her therapist who couldn't help her, she talked to the group therapist who couldn't help her, she even tried talking to her friends, and they couldn't help her, but Eric's here for two minutes, says a few words and sends her a paper airplane and she's all smiles.

"Eric," A woman's voice suddenly said and Eric quickly pulled his hand away from Jackie's, not wanting either of them to get scolded for breaking the no touching policy. Eric looked over his shoulder at who called him and saw Mrs. Shaw approaching them. Jackie saw him tense as she stopped a few feet from the couch, "Eric, it's time for your one on one."

Eric's fists clenched and he shook his head, "I don't want to."

Mrs. Shaw gazed at him curiously, but there was something else in her blue eyes, something Jackie couldn't identify, "Eric, you have to. It's the rules."

"I don't care. I don't want to go," Eric said firmly.

What was happening?

Mrs. Shaw looked down at him, trying to keep her cool, "Eric, you wouldn't want me to tell the director would you?"

Eric shook his head, seeming panicked now, "No."

Mrs. Shaw nodded and straightened her shoulders, "Well then, come on."

Eric looked back at Jackie, almost pleadingly, but then he sighed and stood, following after Mrs. Shaw, "See you later, Jackie."

"Bye Eric," She smiled sadly, wiggling her fingers at him, "Thanks for the paper airplane."

Eric nodded curtly, but then turned his attention back to his shoes as he followed Mrs. Shaw out of the room.

Jackie sat there for a minute curiously, holding the little plane in her fingers, but she stood just a minute later.

She had to talk to Gordon.


	7. Chapter 7

A/N – Alright, I'm back. This chapter is angsty as hell and there are some pretty horrible revelations in this chapter, so… Sorry about my dark mind. Thanks for all the reviews, I really appreciate them. :)

Disclaimer – Read the first chapter's.

Jackie had already eaten breakfast, lunch and gone to her therapy session by Thursday afternoon. Nothing too extravagant happened today, it was just an average day here in the hospital. She hadn't really seen her friends too much today, she's been busy with her sessions. They had art therapy today, which was weird. They had to draw what they think they're feeling, it was kind of dumb in Jackie's opinion. How was that supposed to help?

Jackie didn't care, she just went with it and waited for the session to be over. After it was finally finished, she left the rec room and went to use the phone. She hasn't called her dad since she's been in here, she wanted to talk to him, see how he was doing. He was probably dying to hear from her as well.

So she called the jail he was staying at, knowing the phone number their by heart now she's called so many times. She waited for only a second before one of the officers picked up the phone, "Hello?

His voice was gruff, she's heard it before, "Hi, Officer Jones, is my dad able to talk right now?

"Oh, hello Jackie," He said cheerfully, "We haven't heard from you in a while. How've you been?"

"Okay, I guess," Jackie shrugged, lying to the man. She's felt like absolute shit, "Is my dad there? I really want to talk to him."

Officer Jones chuckled, "Yeah, just wait a minute, I'll go and get him."

Jackie waited for about five minutes. They had to get permission from their boss and then they had to go back and get him out of his cell. After standing there for what felt like an eternity, her father's scratchy voice spoke, "Jackie? How're you doing, sweetheart?"

Jackie smiled and felt herself tear up just hearing his voice, "I'm doing fine, dad. How are you?"

"I'm fine," She could hear him smiling, "How is it where you are?"

Jackie shrugged, a small smile on her face, "It's nice. I've got some friends here."

"Well, that's good," He said, "I'm glad you've got people around there that care about you… How long do you think you'll be in there for?"

Jackie shrugged again, "I've got another four and a half weeks at least."

"Well… As long as you're getting the help you need," He said to her, "Are you feeling any better?"

"A little," She said honestly. She was feeling a tad better, but just a tad, "They do really good work here."

"Good. Good…" He said, "How's your mom?"

Jackie frowned now and looked down at her shoes, "Oh, you know… She's still mom."

He chuckled, "Yeah, I figured… Do you ever talk to her?"

Jackie shrugged once more, "Sometimes…"

"She's worried about you, Jackie," He told her firmly, "You may not think it, but she's worried about you."

Jackie shook her head, feeling an overwhelming surge of anger course through her, "She's going to Mexico, dad."

He sighed, "That's your mother's way of coping with things like this. She just runs away, like she ran away from our marriage and like she ran away from—"

"Being my mother?" Jackie asked, trying to keep her voice even so Isiah didn't go and get her in trouble.

"Yeah… How she ran away from you," He said quietly, "Listen, sweetheart, you got to be patient with your mother, she's like you in many ways."

"Yeah? Well, I don't walk out on a good thing. She did!" Jackie snapped.

"Jackie, sweetheart, calm down," Her father soothed, "Raising your voice isn't going to solve anything."

Jackie released a heavy sigh and nodded, "Yeah… You're right… Sorry."

"It's okay," He said calmly, and Jackie heard somebody else on the other line say something to him and the he said to her, "I'm sorry, sweetheart. I've got to go, I'll talk to you later, okay?"

Jackie sighed again and frowned, looking down at her feet, but she nodded, "Okay."

"Alright," He said, "I love you."

Jackie smiled a little, "I love you, too."

He then told her goodbye and hung up. Jackie put the phone back and wiped her eyes of tears before she sighed and tried to compose herself. Well, she called him. That was done. Now on to her next task, to find Gordon.

0-0-0-0-0

She found Gordon in the rec room, playing chess by himself. He kept flipping the board around and moving the pieces back and forth. He actually like he was quite entranced and into this game. Jackie walked over to the table he was sitting at and sat in the empty chair across from him, catching his gaze, but he didn't look up at her.

"Hey Jackie," He said as he moved another piece, "Want to play?"

Jackie shook her head, "No, I'm no good at chess."

"Suit yourself," Gordon said, "I'm the best around anyhow. I'd probably kick your ass."

Jackie rolled her eyes, "Whatever. Listen, I need to talk to you about something."

"Sure, what is it?" Gordon asked, flipping the board to the opposite side so he could move the other player's piece.

"Have you seen Eric today?" Jackie asked curiously, hopefully.

"Yeah, he seems all pissed off about something," Gordon said, shrugging a moment later, "He must have had a bad night."

"Why? Did he seem off last night when he came back to your guys' room?" Jackie asked, her brow furrowed in curious concern.

Gordon nodded, "Yeah, he went to bed upset. He looked like he'd been crying. He probably just had a panic attack, he'll show up like that sometimes."

"How often?" Jackie asked, Gordon still concentrating on his game.

Gordon took a piece off the board and shrugged, glancing up at Jackie briefly, "I don't know, once every couple of weeks I guess, sometimes it's more often. It's sporadic, really."

"How upset was he?" Jackie asked, and now Gordon looked up at her.

"Are you sure you don't want to play twenty questions with Eric?" Gordon asked her sarcastically.

Jackie sighed and frowned, shaking her head, "Sorry, it's just… He was in a pretty good mood when I saw him last night, but then…"

Gordon cocked an eyebrow and gazed at her curiously, setting his shoulders back, "But then, what?"

Jackie sighed and ran her hand across her face before she said, "That nurse… Mrs. Shaw. She came in here last night asking him to come with her."

"What did she need him to do?" Gordon asked in suspicion.

"She said he had a one on one," Jackie said, "But it seemed a little weird to me."

Gordon nodded, "Yeah, that's very weird. Because Eric's one on ones are after lunch, not dinner."

Jackie frowned deeper now, "What?"

Gordon nodded once more, sitting back in his seat more comfortably now, thinking, "Mrs. Shaw you said?"

Jackie nodded, "Yeah."

Gordon was racking his brain for answers, "I always thought she was weird. I'm trying to remember… There was this one kid one time who seemed scared of her, and—Oh no…"

Jackie sat up a little bit, "What?"

"We always thought he was lying," Gordon said, seeming panicked now, "He was delusional, so it was easy to think that. What if… What if he was telling the truth?"

Jackie was confused now, "What truth? What kid? Gordon, please tell me what you're trying to say."

Gordon suddenly pushed his chair back and stood, looking down at Jackie briefly and turning towards the door, "Come with me."

Jackie quickly stood after a moment of confusion and she followed her friend towards the exit. She followed him down the hall, past the TV room and cafeteria. Most of the patients moved out of their way, seeing the determined look on Gordon's face. Some of the nurses and staff asked what was wrong, but Gordon gave each of them an excuse so they didn't follow him and pester him.

Jackie followed his quick stride directly behind him, trying desperately to keep up, but he was surprisingly fast for his small size.

"Gordon, what's going on?" Jackie asked the boy as they quickly walked down the boy's hallway.

Gordon didn't reply though, because he quickly turned and went into a room, Jackie following him closely. It was dark in here, but there was still enough sunshine peeking through the tilted blinds so that they could see clearly.

This must be their room.

Jackie saw, across the room, Eric lying on his side, fast asleep, in his bed. Gordon quickly walked over to him and looked down at him, checking him, as if to make sure he was okay. He very gently grabbed the sleeve of Eric's shirt, praying to God he didn't wake him. He gently pulled the sleeve up a little ways, to see if he had any injuries or anything. He had a bruise around his wrist, it looked like somebody had grabbed him.

Gordon released his shirt sleeve and looked up at his face. He was so pale. His eyes were surrounded by dark shadows. Jackie watched Gordon closely as he looked down at Eric's shoulder, looking like he had just noticed something. He gently grabbed the neck of Eric's shirt and pulled it down a tad, and he saw the faintest bit of a scratch, but he couldn't get a better look, because the next thing he knew he was being hit across the face with a forceful punch.

Gordon fell back and Jackie gasped, going over to the boy to see if he was okay. Eric suddenly sat up and pushed himself back against the wall, gazing over at the two, then he realized he had just hit Gordon and his expression when from frightened to apologetic.

"Gordon? I'm sorry, are you okay?" Eric asked, slumping his shoulders a little as he inched forward a little.

Gordon was holding his eye. Yeah, that'd be bruised in just a few minutes.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Gordon said, not really even concerned about himself at the moment, "Are you?"

Eric seemed confused now, "W-what?"

Gordon looked over at Jackie, "Jackie, go tilt the door."

Eric seemed alarmed by this and he looked between Jackie and Gordon, "W-why does the door need to be closed."

"Because, I don't want anybody to hear us," Gordon said, and he noticed the fearful expression on his friend's face and quickly assured him, "Eric, its fine. She's not even closing it all the way, see?"

Jackie tilted the door shut, but there was still a little light that flooded into the room from the hallway. Eric saw Gordon move and quickly pushed his gaze back over to his friend, "What's all of this about?"

Gordon dropped both his hands to his side as Jackie stepped back over to them, gently sitting down next to Gordon on his bed as Eric stayed over in his.

"Why is your wrist bruised?" Gordon started off, glancing down at Eric's arm. He watched as the older boy pushed his sleeve down so it covered his wrist completely from view.

"It's not," Eric tried, but he knew Gordon knew he was lying.

"Eric, I saw it," Gordon said, "Who grabbed you?"

Eric shook his head, "Nobody."

"Okay, fine," Gordon sighed, prodding at his eye, "What about the scratch on your back? Who did that?"

"That's nothing," Eric kept defending, his entire body tense with fear of the unknown.

"Did you get into a fight?" Gordon asked, trying to slowly make his way to the question he really wanted to ask, "Did you have a meltdown and have to be sedated?"

Eric stayed silent. He didn't answer either question.

Gordon sighed, "You know, about a month before you got here, I had a roommate named Riz. He was schizophrenic and delusional, so we always thought he was having hallucinations when he was say certain things, and usually they were harmless things, but then, after a few weeks, he told this horrible story and we thought he just had some sick delusion."

Jackie watched Gordon as he told Eric of his old roommate, she was just as into it as he was.

"He told us that Mrs. Shaw was a bad woman," Gordon said, and Eric tensed at the sound of her name being spoken, "He told us she had done things to him, really bad things, and we thought it was all a lie. Nobody believed him, but now… Now I don't know. Maybe he was telling the truth."

Jackie saw the tears in Eric's eyes as Gordon continued to speak. Jackie had this horrible feeling in the pit of her stomach. She prayed this wasn't going where she thought it was going.

"Maybe he was telling the truth about her trying to be his friend and acting like she cared," Gordon went on, "Maybe he was telling the truth when he told us she was touching him inappropriately. Maybe he was telling the truth when he told us she was a rapist."

Eric had drawn his knees up to his chest now, his arms tight around his legs. Jackie felt her heart sink at Gordon's last words, and she felt her eyes burning now as well as she watched Eric come absolutely hysterical. Eric rested his forehead on his knees and started to sob, though quietly. He didn't want anyone outside of this room to hear him.

He didn't know how to feel. He felt afraid, embarrassed, ashamed.

Gordon stood slowly and very gently stepped over to Eric's bed, sitting down about a foot or so away from him, "Did she hurt you, Eric?"

Eric tried to stop himself from crying, and Gordon and Jackie both heard a muffled, "Yes…"

Jackie couldn't even control herself now, the tears were rolling down her face now. They had to do something about this. They couldn't let this go on.

"We have to tell somebody," Jackie suddenly said, and Eric jerked his head up and sent Jackie a pleading look.

Eric shook his head, "No, you can't. Please. Don't tell anybody. Please."

"Why not? She deserves every bad thing that could possibly happen to a person," Jackie snapped, getting angry now, "She should be in prison."

"No, you can't tell anybody," Eric pleaded desperately.

"Why not?" Jackie asked, but Gordon looked over at her with a pleading look as well.

But she was cut off from her next sentence when Gordon suddenly stood, suddenly realizing something. He started towards the door, causing Jackie was watch him curiously, "Gordon?"

"Stay here," Gordon said as he opened the door and stepped out, "And don't let him out of your sight."

"Oh God, oh God…" Eric whimpered, grabbing his hair and pulling on it, thinking Gordon was going to tell somebody.

"I'll be right back," Gordon said, leaving the room.

After he disappeared out of view, Jackie stood and dashed over to the door, peeking around the corner after she glanced back at Eric, "Wait, Gordon!"

He stopped and looked back at her, "What?"

"What ever happened to your friend, Riz?" Jackie asked curiously.

Gordon avoided her gaze, "He killed himself."

Then he walked away.

0-0-0-0-0

"He can't tell anybody," Eric said for the hundredth time as he paced his room, pulling at his already messy hair, "He can't tell anybody…"

"Eric, please stop pacing," Jackie said, he'd been doing this for the past five minutes.

"Oh God… Everybody's going to know…" Eric said, trying to keep himself from crying, "I'm going to get in trouble…"

Jackie furrowed her brow curiously at that, "Wait. Why would you get in trouble?"

But he didn't answer her, he just kept pacing and repeating the same thing over and over again. Jackie watched him, trying to be patient. Where the hell was Gordon?

Jackie continued to watch Eric pace back and forth, pulling at his hair and mumbling the same things over and over again, trying to keep himself from crying.

Jackie was so angry. Why would that woman do something like that to Eric? Why would she do something like that to anyone? She deserved nothing but a life sentence in the Milwaukee federal prison. This place was perfect for a woman like her. Everyone was vulnerable and easy to get to. Jackie didn't know what Eric was originally here for, but she did know whatever it was it was pretty bad, but this whole thing just seemed to make it worse.

"What am I going to do?" Eric asked himself, hitting himself in the head before he suddenly stopped in his tracks, "What are my friends going to think? My parents? Oh God…"

Jackie wanted to hug him, do something, but he wouldn't let her. At least now she knew why he didn't like people touching him.

"I'm back," Gordon suddenly said, making Eric and Jackie both flinch.

Eric quickly approached Gordon, his fists clenched nervously by his sides, "Who'd you tell?"

Gordon gave Eric a look of sympathy, "I didn't tell anybody."

"You didn't?" Eric asked, then he sighed in relief, "Thank you…"

"Where did you go?" Jackie asked, standing now and looking over at her friend.

Gordon looked down at his hand that he was holding something in, then he looked back up at Eric, "I got your jacket back."

Eric looked down at what Gordon was now offering to him and quickly took it out of his hand, examining it to make sure it was really what he hoped it was. Eric then hugged it to his chest and went to sit on his bed, and Jackie looked over at Gordon curiously and whispered to him.

"What is that?" She asked.

"It's his dad's old jacket," Gordon said, "Some asshole down the hall stole it from him because he knew Eric wasn't going to fight him to get it back. So I fought him to get it back."

Jackie offered him a sad sort of smile, "Well, that was sweet of you."

"Yeah, well, I thought maybe it'd calm him down, keep him from having a complete breakdown. The last thing we need is for him to be all drugged up," Gordon said as they both looked back over to Eric who was now sitting back on his bed, having put the jacket on now. Gordon went to sit down on his own bed now, Jackie remaining standing at the end of the bed, "So… What do you want to do about all of this?"

Eric looked over at Gordon, his hazel eyes sad and fearful as he shook his head, "I can't tell anybody."

"Why not?" Gordon asked softly, keeping his voice calm so he didn't push Eric away.

"Because I-I just can't," Eric said, hunching in on himself like he usually did when he felt anxious.

Gordon nodded, understanding that Eric wasn't going to change his mind right now, "Well… I guess you're just going to have to hang out with us all the time, then. Because I am not letting you out of my site. I will walk you to and from therapy, when you go to the rec room or TV room somebody will be there with you. What she did to you she won't be doing anymore."

Eric shook his head, "You can't promise that, she… She has her ways."

That manipulative bitch.

"Eric, it's not happening again," Gordon said definitely, "I don't care if you don't want me or Jackie with you, I'd rather piss you off than to have what she did to you happen again."

Eric shook his head, nonbelieving, "She's going to do it again."

Gordon shook his head. What had she told him? There was something that she has done or said that has made him think he has to do these things with her.

Gordon looked over at Jackie, who was frowning deeply, her hazel colored eyes watery as she gazed back over at Eric.

He was a broken man, and she had no idea how to fix him.


	8. Chapter 8

A/N – Alright, this chapter is a little bit shorter than the previous ones, but oh well. Thanks for all of the reviews. I warned you guys this was going to be dark. I hope you enjoy this chapter, it's just sort of a filler.

Disclaimer – Read the first chapter's.

"How many digits have you memorized?" Jackie asked Eric as they sat in the rec room two days later.

"37," Eric told her and she smiled, a little impressed.

"Wow," Jackie said and she saw him smile a tad, "That's… That's pretty cool."

Apparently Eric spent his free time memorizing the infinite number of pi and was currently up to digit 37. Jackie was never good remembering academic related things and plus, she just never took the time to really pay attention.

Mrs. Shaw has tried talking to Eric several times in the past few days, but Gordon and Jackie have defended him each time, telling her his therapist had told them that his sessions are now during the lunch period and they were walking with him. So her attempts have failed so far, hopefully it stayed that way.

"You got any other weird talents?" Jackie asked.

Eric thought for a moment and then said, "I can lick my own elbow."

Jackie furrowed her brow, but smiled, "Yeah, that's pretty weird."

Eric chuckled a little bit and it made Jackie happy just hearing him laugh and seeing him smile. This watching over Eric thing had sort of helped her, too. The only thing in her mind right now was Eric and keeping him away from that evil witch of a woman. It focused her mind on something else, and she knew eventually she'd have to go back and face her own problems again, but right now she was happy helping someone else with theirs.

Maybe she could do this someday. Be a psychologist or therapist or something. Maybe Eric was right.

"What about you?" Eric suddenly asked.

"Do I have any weird talents?" Jackie asked and Eric nodded. Jackie shook her head, "No, I'm just average."

"Jackie Burkhart? Average? I don't think so," Eric joked.

Jackie giggled and rolled her eyes, "Fine. I'm slightly above average."

Eric smiled and looked down at his hands on top of the table. This was good. She was keeping him entertained, keeping his mind occupied.

"So, uh… I never got around to asking you…" Eric started as Jackie gazed at him curiously, "How is everyone? The gang? Are they doing okay?"

Jackie smiled and shrugged, "Steven's got a record store, but I'm sure you already knew that. Fez is still cutting hair, Donna's in school, Michael's… Well, he's Michael."

Eric smirked and nodded, "Well, as long as they're all doing okay."

Jackie knew he wanted to know how his parents were doing.

"Maybe you should call them," Jackie suggested, "Your parents, I mean. I'm sure they'd love to hear from you."

Eric shook his head, looking unsure of that suggestion, "I don't know… I don't want to lose it over the phone… Then they'd want to know where I was."

"Well, that could be a good thing," Jackie said, "You'd like to see them, I'm sure."

Eric nodded, "I would, but… With everything going on right now…"

Jackie frowned now and looked down at her hands. Red and Kitty were probably so worried about him, he hasn't called them in three weeks.

"Have you called your parents?" Eric asked Jackie now.

She looked up at him and then nodded, "Yeah… I called my dad a couple of days ago and my mom… It's been about a week."

"You said she's going to Mexico?" Eric asked curiously.

"Yeah," Jackie said, twiddling her thumbs.

"She just doesn't understand, Jackie," Eric tried to assure her, "She thinks she does, but she doesn't."

Jackie shook her head and ran a hand down her face, "I just feel weird being here, now."

Eric cocked an eyebrow, "What? Why?"

Jackie caught eyes with him and sighed, dropping her arms and slumping her shoulders, "Well… Everybody that I've met here… They all seem to have really serious problems. Gordon's bipolar, Josie's delusional, you're ten times more fucked up than me… I've just got mommy issues."

Eric sighed and shook his head, "Jackie, your problems matter, too. Just because my life's shit doesn't mean you don't have problems… Jackie, it couldn't get any worse for me, don't compare what you have to what I have. You have every reason to be upset with your mother and you need to be here."

Jackie nodded, having heard this all before from Gordon, "Yeah… I know…"

She still didn't believe it though. Everything seemed so little now. Her problems didn't seem as bad as they used to. Everybody else had really serious issues and she was just here with the same cliché bull crap.

Eric looked up at the clock on the wall, looking to see what time it was. This was usually the time Shaw came looking for him.

"Want to go outside?" Eric asked.

He never went there, she'd never look for him out there.

Jackie looked up in surprise, but she smiled a little bit and nodded slightly, "Yeah, sure."

0-0-0-0-0

They sat on the bench outside. It was a little cool today, mostly because of the breeze. Eric was entertained just watching the clouds above them, his hands rested in his lap as he shivered a tad. Jackie looked up at the sky to see what he found so entertaining. The clouds weren't spotted across the sky, they just sort of covered it. It looked like it wanted to rain, the clouds were a light grey color. They wouldn't be able to stay out here for long.

"It's pretty out here," Eric said, keeping his eyes on the sky, "I should come out here more often."

"You think?" Jackie smiled, looking over at him, "Look how pale you are. You definitely need a tan."

"Yeah, you're right," Eric said, looking down at his pale hands, "I'm really pale. I never really paid too much attention to it."

They both looked back up at the sky, somehow entertained by the clouds that seemed to be moving quickly across the sky.

"My dad used to take me to the park all the time when I was little," Eric said, gripping the edge of the bench with his pale hands, "That was back when we were really close. He used to love doing stuff with me… We'd play catch, or we'd go to the playground… I miss that."

Jackie smiled sweetly at that and looked down at his hand. She wished he'd let her touch him.

"But since I turned thirteen or so... Things just changed," Eric went on, and now Jackie realized that he was possibly telling her one of the reasons he was in here, "We don't get along anymore, even now that I'm fully grown. We don't talk, we don't connect… I just wish sometimes I could go back to being five years old. Everything was so easy back then."

Jackie nodded, "Tell me about it. I wish I could go back to before my parents got divorced and we were happy… We used to do everything together. My mom and I actually got along. We loved each other. Now she'd do anything but talk to me."

"Parents, huh?" Eric scoffed.

Jackie nodded in agreement as they both fell into silence. The two had a little bit in common, it seemed. Both of them had issues they wanted resolved with one of their parents, but neither of them ever thought they'd achieve it.

Jackie looked over at Eric and saw him shivering. He had forgot his coat inside, he left it in his room. Of course, neither of them thought they were eventually going to end up out here. Jackie scooted a tiny bit closer to Eric, and she saw him tense at the tiny movement.

He looked down at her curiously and she looked at him the same, "Can I… Can I hold your hand?"

Eric was quiet for a moment, not quite sure how to respond to that. He swallowed thickly and looked down at both their hands briefly before he looked back up at Jackie and nodded slowly, "Sure."

Jackie slowly reached out to grab his hand, being very careful and making sure he had his eyes on everything she was doing. She gently curled her fingers under Eric's, and he tensed a little at the touch, but he quickly relaxed into it. Jackie held his hand, relaxing next to him and he relaxed slowly next to her.

"Are you okay?" She asked him in concern.

Eric nodded, "Yeah. I'm okay."

He smiled down at her sweetly and she smiled back. She was holding hands with Eric Forman. This was a situation Jackie would never see herself in. This wasn't romantic in any way, but it was still something an eighteen year old Jackie would find repulsive. Jackie was glad she's grown as a person in such a short period of time.

"This is what she did at first," Eric suddenly said. Jackie looked up at him curiously, noticing his shoulders were still a little tense, "Before it all started."

Jackie's features softened in sadness, but she kept her soft grip on Eric's hand, "I'm not going to hurt you, Eric."

He nodded, "I know… I trust you."

Jackie felt her heart swell a little at that, "Thank you."

Eric looked down at his feet, "I had a dream about her last night."

Jackie gazed up at him curiously. He was opening up to her. He really did trust her.

"It kind of scared me," Eric admitted.

"Did she… You know…?" Jackie asked.

"No…" Eric said, shaking his head, "I… I… I killed her… Is that bad?"

Jackie thought about it for a minute. It was his subconscious putting his feelings into his dreams. Eric wouldn't actually do anything like that, but his dreams didn't follow rules. Jackie shook her head, "No. It's understandable."

"I hate her," Eric suddenly snapped, his features displaying anger now, but there was sadness in his eyes, "I hate her so much."

Jackie squeezed his hand a little, making him tense up, "I know."

Eric released a tense breath and looked down at his feet again, trying to calm himself down, "Jackie?"

"Yeah?" She looked up at him.

"I think I want to see my parents," Eric said, his voice trembling, "I think maybe it'll bring some happiness into my life. Even if it is just a little."

"So you want to tell them you're here?" Jackie asked, making sure this is what he really wanted, "Are you sure?"

Eric nodded, "Yeah… I'm sure."

0-0-0-0-0

Eric stood at the phone later that day, Jackie standing just beside him, leaning against the wall. Eric held the phone in his hand shakily, very nervous to make this call. He had told them that he was in Chicago and he had a job as a UPS driver. It was a crap job, but at least it was something to tell them.

Eric looked over at Jackie nervously, who gave him a stern, supportive look. Eric released a shaky breath and started to dial his home number. He dialed it up quickly and held the phone up to his ear, holding his breath as he waited to hear one of his parent's voices.

He tapped his foot anxiously as he waited, starting to regret this decision. Maybe this was a bad idea.

"Hello?" His mother's voice spoke, and he released that held breath finally, trying to keep himself composed.

"Hi mom," He said shakily.

"Eric. We haven't heard from you in a while, we were starting to worry," Kitty sort of scolded him over the phone, "How have you been? Are you doing okay?"

Eric nodded, biting his bottom lip to keep himself from crying, "Yeah… Yeah, I'm okay. Is dad there? I really need to tell you guys something."

"Yeah, just… Just hang on a minute," He could hear the concern in her voice.

He waited for a minute as she called his father into the room. Here it goes, you got to tell them.

"Okay, he's here," Kitty said nervously.

"Eric? Are you alright?" His father's voice suddenly asked.

"Yes, I'm fine, just… Listen for a minute," Eric said, the nervousness being shared between all three of them as Eric started to lose his composure, "I need to tell you guys something and it's pretty important, so please, just… Don't be mad."

"We won't. What's wrong, sweetheart?" Kitty asked nervously.

Eric released a tense breath and closed his eyes briefly before he told them, "I'm not really living in Chicago."

It was quiet for a minute, but then Red said, "What?"

Eric nodded, "And I don't have a job, either."

They were confused, "Why did you lie to us?" Red asked.

Eric wiped his eyes before any tears could escape them, "I'm living in Milwaukee."

"Milwaukee? Why'd you tell us you were living in Chicago?" Red asked, seeming confused and a little angry.

"Because," Eric said, "I didn't want you to know where I really was."

"Why not?" Kitty suddenly asked, seeming impatient herself now.

"Mom. Dad," Eric started, wiping his eyes again in frustration, "I'm in a mental hospital."

They were quiet for a minute, as if in shock, then Kitty asked, "Like, as a patient?"

Eric nodded, "Yes, as a patient."

He heard his mother gasp, and his father was still quiet. His mother asked, "Why are you in a mental hospital?"

Eric felt a few hot tears roll down his face, prompting him to wipe them away quickly, "I-I'm kind of depressed… I don't want to tell you everything over the phone, I've only got ten minutes on here, so… You're not mad at me, are you?"

"What? No son, why would we be mad at you?" Red suddenly spoke again, seeming taken off guard by Eric's stupid question.

Eric shrugged, "I don't know, I just… I don't know…"

"We're not mad at you. You can't control what you're feeling," His mother told him.

"I know…" Eric said, looking down at his feet anxiously.

"Can… Can we come and see you?" Kitty asked a moment later.

Eric smiled a little and nodded, "Yeah… I'd like that."

"Okay, where's it at?" Kitty asked, snapping her fingers to try and get Red to go and get her some paper and a pen.

Eric shook his head, "Just ask Hyde to drive you. He knows where it is."

Jackie looked up at Eric in alarm. Steven drove her here. He wasn't going to tell them she was here too, was he?

"O-okay…" Kitty said, deciding not to ask any further questions, knowing that'd he have to be hanging up soon, "Well… When is a good time?"

"Anytime you want," Eric said, shrugging.

"How about tomorrow?" Kitty asked eagerly.

Eric chuckled and nodded, "Yeah, tomorrow's fine."

"Okay, well… We'll see you tomorrow then?" Kitty asked.

Eric nodded, "See you tomorrow."

"Okay," Kitty said, "We love you."

Eric smiled sadly, "I love you guys, too."

Kitty said goodbye and hung up the phone. Eric held the phone in his hand for a moment, relishing that short conversation they had. It was nice just to hear their voices. He hung up the phone a moment later and released a relieved breath.

"Why did you tell them Steven could drive them? He drove me here, what if he tells them that I'm here?" Jackie asked, sort of glaring up at Eric.

Eric shook his head, "Hyde drove me here, too. He won't tell them you're here, trust me."

"Wait," Jackie said, her expression changing, "Steven drove you here?"

Eric nodded, "Yeah… I called him one day and told him I took a lot of pills. He called an ambulance and then a week later he drove me here."

"Oh…" Jackie said, watching as Eric flicked his fingers anxiously, "I didn't know… Sorry for being so… Accusing."

Eric shrugged and offered her a sad sort of smile, "That's okay…"

Jackie looked down at her feet for a moment before she looked up at the clock on the wall, "It's almost dinner time. We should get going."

Eric nodded in agreement and followed Jackie down the hall towards the cafeteria.


	9. Chapter 9

A/N – Thank you guys for the reviews, I've been getting quite a few for this story. I'm just pushing right through this story, I can't believe I've already got nine chapters of this. I hope you like this chapter, it deals with both Eric and Jackie's parents.

Disclaimer – Read the first chapter's.

The next day after everything had been pretty much handled for the day, they were able to see their visitors. Eric was anxious, and as was Jackie.

Her mother called early this morning and told her she wanted to come and see her. Jackie was shocked at this, she didn't even know what to say to her in that moment. So she just told her okay and said she would see her later.

So now, here both Eric and Jackie sat, at the same table. Waiting for their parents to come and see them. Eric's parents said they'd be here by three, Jackie's mom would be here by three thirty, but knowing her she'd be at least a half an hour late.

"Are you nervous?" Jackie asked when she saw Eric tapping his foot, his hands clenched together and resting in his lap.

Eric looked over at Jackie and gazed at her anxiously, "Is it that obvious?"

Jackie smiled a tight lipped smile, "You'll be okay. They'll be happy just to see you."

"They're going to start asking questions…" Eric shook his head, avoiding her eyes now and instead looking down at the tabletop, "I don't know if I can do this."

"Eric, breathe," Jackie said, grabbing his hand, making him tense a little, "You'll be fine."

Eric closed his eyes and released a sigh, nodding curtly, "You're right. I can do this."

Jackie smiled, "That's the spirit."

"What about you? Are you nervous?" Eric asked her, looking over at her now.

Jackie shrugged, "Well… Yeah, but… I've got to talk to her at some point. Why not just get it over with, you know?"

Eric nodded. He wished he thought more like her.

"Yeah, I guess…" He said.

They heard the door squeaking open and they both looked up and saw a nurse directing both Red and Kitty over to their son.

"Okay, I'm going to leave you guys alone," Jackie said, trying to get out of here before Red and Kitty spotted her, "Good luck."

She squeezed his hand reassuringly and he nodded at her before she let go of his hand and she stood and walked away over to another table a little ways away from him so she could wait for her mom. Eric sat there nervously, his foot tapping anxiously as Red and Kitty spotted him and sort of rushed over to the table.

They looked down at him in concern as he stood.

"Mom, Dad…" Eric said quietly, looking between them. They looked so worried. He's never seen his father so concerned.

"Eric," Kitty said, looking him up and down, "My God, you're so skinny. Do they feed you around here?"

"Mom…" Eric complained, knowing that'd probably be the first thing she said.

"Kitty, he always looks like that," Red said, but he did notice something else, "But you've never been this pale. Do you ever go outside? Sun light is good for you, you know?"

Kitty went to give Eric a hug, but he flinched visibly and tensed up, making her stop in her tracks. She gazed up at him in worry, but she didn't press him further. She's seen people like this before, she's had to deal with a few depressives in her time as a nurse.

She shared a look with Red and then looked back at Eric, "We should sit."

Eric nodded and they all sat down around the table. His parents watched him for a moment, as if really taking in his appearance. Red noticed the headband in his hair, which made him ask, "Is that your mother's?"

Eric was still tense as he reached up and fixed the headband in his hair, then he nodded, "Yes. It keeps me calm… This is your jacket."

Red now noticed that his son was wearing his old jean jacket that he had for God knows how long. Red smiled a little. If those things made him happy…

"How are you feeling?" Kitty asked in concern, her hands clenched into nervous fists and resting on top of the table.

Eric shrugged, "Okay… How've you guys been?"

Kitty smiled sadly, "We've been okay. We've just been worried about you."

"I'm sorry," Eric apologized for no reason.

Both his parent's brows furrowed them, both of them surprised at his reaction to things these days, "Eric, you don't have to apologize," Kitty said.

Eric shook his head, "I just feel bad for worrying you guys."

Kitty shook her head and offered him a sad smile, "We're just happy you're getting the help you need, sweetheart."

Eric smiled a little bit, "Well… I'm feeling a little better… I'm really happy to see you guys."

Red and Kitty both smiled as Eric went on to ask, "How is everybody?"

"Well, Donna's in her third year of school," Kitty started, and she just went into everything that was going on.

Donna was studying music theory because she wanted to become a DJ herself. She wanted her own radio station and everything. Fez was doing okay with his hair styling stuff, he had a girlfriend now. Her name was Vivienne. Kelso and Brooke were on good terms and he got to see Betsy all the time. And they said Hyde was doing okay, he was just worried about Eric.

Eric got some big news though. He was apparently going to be an uncle, because Laurie was pregnant. Neither of his parents seemed too happy about that, because apparently the father wasn't in the picture anymore. Eric knew Laurie wasn't going to raise that kid, he knew she'd always be dropping it off for their parents to handle.

Kitty and Red talked to Eric for a little while, all of them seeming to be relaxing into his other's presence again. They were all smiling, even Eric.

0-0-0-0-0

Jackie's mom showed up earlier than Jackie had expected. When she spotted her daughter, Jackie tried to look like she was interested in seeing her. She wanted to talk to her, but she was sure this could possibly end in yelling.

"Jackie, how are you?" Pam asked with a sad sort of smile as she came over and hugged her daughter.

Jackie hugged her back, but loosely, before they both sat down. Jackie looked down at her hands, "I'm fine. How are you?"

Pam shrugged, "I'm doing well…"

"You still going to Mexico?" Jackie asked curiously, hinting to her mother with the tone of her voice that she was angry with her.

But she didn't seem to catch it, "Yes. Next month."

Jackie nodded, biting her bottom lip irritably, "What? Didn't get a good look last time you went?"

"Jackie…" Pam eased, giving her daughter a pleading look, "Please, I didn't come here to argue."

"Then why did you come here?" Jackie asked, her arms crossed over her chest defensively.

"I just wanted to see you," Pam said honestly.

"But you're still going to Mexico?" Jackie asked, throwing her hands up, "If you want to see me and you want to know if I'm doing okay, I think maybe you should stay home instead of running off to a different country!"

"Jackie, don't get upset," Pam tried, keeping her voice down.

"Why shouldn't I get upset?" Jackie asked, her fists clenched now. She ran a hand across her eyes and said, "You know, I didn't think I'd be able to do this today, or any day for that matter, but screw it, I'm going to go for it… Mom. You're not a good mother."

"Jackie!" Pam gasped in surprise, and it was now they realized they had garnered the attention of a few surrounding tables, but Jackie didn't care. She didn't care if everyone knew her problems, she didn't care if Red and Kitty saw her, she had to tell her mother how she felt. She wanted to get better, and maybe this could be a start.

"I know I haven't been the best daughter on the planet and that I'm 'problematic' to you, but for Christ's sake think about somebody besides yourself sometimes," Jackie went on, pointing an accusing finger at her mother, "I am mentally ill. Did you hear that or was your bloated ego getting in the way of your hearing?"

Pam was surprised at how quickly this escalated. She wasn't expecting to come in here and be lectured by her daughter, but here they were.

"I am desperate for love and attention, okay? Those are two things that you think only you can have, I get that, but I just wanted to let you know that all of that love and attention is fake," Jackie continued, her voice getting louder and louder as she went on, "I hope you know that ego centric dickheads don't just have those things. You have a lot of money and that's why people like you, they're mooching, sorry to burst your bubble."

"Jackie—"

"No mom, let finish one fucking time, please!" Jackie cut her off, "I just want to let you know how I feel and I just want you to listen, for once in your life… I have only two things holding me back from just losing my damn mind. Dad and my friend over there," Pam looked to where Jackie was pointing, but didn't get a good look because Jackie started talking again, "They are the only reasons I haven't just lost it. And I try so hard to hold onto those two people so that I don't end up doing something really stupid. I get up every day and do the same thing. I mope around, wallow in depression, try not to hurt myself, feel sick, sleep, and think of things and how they could've been different. That's all I fucking do and it's all your fault. Just thought I'd inform you."

Jackie then stood and pushed her chair back, several nurses having come over to try and calm her down. Jackie saw one of the nurses was Shaw and she pointed a stern finger in her face, a scowl on her face as she said, "Don't you fucking touch me. You stay away from me and my friends."

Jackie stormed past the nurses and left the visiting area quickly, leaving the nurses confused and her mother in shock.

0-0-0-0-0

Eric heard everything Jackie said, and he saw everything unfold, his parents had, too.

"Was that Jackie?" Kitty asked her son in shock.

Eric nodded as he looked over towards his mother, "Yes… Don't tell anybody she's here. She doesn't want anybody to know."

"Does anybody know?" Kitty asked curiously, a tinge of worry in her voice for Jackie.

Eric nodded, "Only Hyde and her parents."

"Why is she here?" Kitty asked.

"Same reason I am," Eric said simply, and both Red and Kitty frowned.

Jackie finally standing up to her mother really inspired Eric. He looked over at his dad who was looking down at the tabletop in shock that Jackie was here as well.

"Dad," Eric suddenly said to his father who he's barely said two sentences to since he's been here.

"Yeah?" Red looked up at his son.

Time to patch some things up.

Eric released a tense breath, his heart beating a hundred miles a minute. He caught eyes with his father, "Why do you yell at me all the time?"

Red furrowed his brow curiously, but there seemed to be a little sadness hidden in his expression as well, "I don't."

"Dad, ever since middle school all I can ever remember between you and me was name calling and yelling," Eric said sadly. He's had these feeling pushed down for so long he didn't even know how to identify them anymore. There was anger, hurt, confusion, sadness, all of it meshed together into one, "What did I ever do wrong that made you so mad at me?"

Red seemed hurt by these comments, but he held it down, "Eric, you never did anything wrong."

"Then why did you yell at me all the time?" Eric asked curiously.

Red frowned and released a small sigh, "Eric, I… I guess I just wanted you to be a man. You were always a little soft and back in my time men weren't like that. I tried preparing you for the world, I wanted you to be tough, I wanted you to be able to handle yourself… I guess none of that really worked out though, did it?"

Red looked down at his hands sadly, Kitty watching both of them curiously.

"I'm not the reason you're in here am I?" Red asked, praying he wasn't.

Eric shook his head, "Well… There's other things, but… I always felt like you had something to do with it…"

Red seemed disappointed in himself. He ran a hand down his face, releasing a sigh, "Eric… I'm sorry. I didn't think all of that was going to make you like this. I didn't know I caused you all of this pain. I thought you could take it, I thought I did a good job as a parent… Apparently I failed."

Eric shook his head and gave his dad a supportive look, "No, dad… You're a great parent. I have so many good memories of us together… Remember when you used to take me to the military base? You showed me around your ship one time, remember? That was awesome. And remember when you used to take me to the park all the time when I was little? You taught me how to ride a bike, catch a ball, swim… And… We had our moments as I got older. You're a great dad, you did a good job, you were just…"

"A little too hard on you," Red finished his son's sentence, nodding, "I called you names all the time, yelled at you for some pretty dumb things… I thought I was doing the right thing. I really did."

Eric nodded, "I know."

Red shook his head, "I don't know what to say… I can't believe I was part of what caused all of this…"

Eric looked down at his hands sadly as they rested on top of the table. He feels like he just made all of this worse. He told his dad how he felt, but now his dad seemed upset with himself. Eric seemed to always make things worse. Why did this always have to happen? Was everything that happened to him his fault? Maybe his dad didn't yell at him because he wanted to, maybe Eric did something wrong?

Eric felt tears burning his eyes and he immediately bowed his head so his parents didn't see him. They saw his quick, sharp movement and they both looked across the table at him curiously.

"Eric, sweetheart? Are you okay?" Kitty asked curiously, bending over to try and see his face.

Eric wiped his eyes quickly and nodded, "Yeah, I'm fine… I-I should go…"

Eric quickly pushed his chair back and stood, not wanting his parents to see him like this. They stood with him though.

"Eric?" Red said in concern, trying to get his son to turn to look at him. Red took a step towards Eric, reaching a gentle hand out, but not laying it on him. He saw his son's shoulders jerk a little bit and he saw a tear hit the floor, "It's okay, son…"

Eric tried his best to keep himself contained, but it was a lot harder than it seemed.

"I want to help," Red said honestly, his voice desperate, "Please tell me how to help."

Eric suddenly turned around towards his father and freely let the tears fall, "I'm sorry…"

Red reached his arms out towards his son, wanting to at least grab his arm for reassure, "Eric, it's—"

But he was quickly cut off when Eric surprised him with a hug. He didn't react at first, he just felt his son's thin arms wrap around him and he felt his shirt quickly becoming soaked with tears. Red gently wrapped his arms around Eric, as if not to startle him, and he patted his back reassuringly.

"It's okay… You're okay…" He said, trying to sooth him. He hasn't held his son like this since he was still in elementary school.

"I'm sorry I got mad," Eric sobbed into his father's shoulder.

Red shook his head and relaxed into the embrace finally, "That's okay…"

Kitty inched closer to her boys and looked between them curiously. She wanted to hug her son, she wanted to wrap her arms around him and tell him everything would be okay. Red suddenly held out his arm to his wife and she gently nudged herself into the family group hug. Eric warmly welcomed her under his arm as he continued to cry into his father's shirt.

Red just held his wife and his son in his arms, promising the both of them that this would all get better soon.


	10. Chapter 10

A/N – Alright guys, this is a longer chapter, some big stuff happens in it. It's sort of the beginning of the end to Eric's situation. It starts off fun, but it progresses and gets a little dark. Well, sort of. Not as dark as that one chapter, don't worry. I hope you like it, and thanks for all the reviews.

Disclaimer – Read the first chapter's.

"That was so cool of you to stand up to your mom like that," Eric said to Jackie as they leaned against the perimeter fence of the hospital.

Jackie smiled and looked up at Eric, "Yeah… It felt good. I'm glad I did it."

Eric smiled and looked down at his feet, his hands had a hold on the fence, "I told my dad how I felt, too."

Jackie looked up at him proudly, "Yeah? Did he take it well?"

Eric nodded, "Yeah… He did… He hugged me and told me he'd try to make everything right again."

"And do you believe him?" Jackie asked curiously.

Eric thought for a moment, and then he nodded, "Yeah, I do, actually."

Jackie smiled again, "I'm glad," Then she furrowed her brow, "He hugged you?"

Eric nodded, "Yeah. Well… I hugged him."

"You hugged him?" Jackie asked in surprise.

Eric smiled and nodded, "Yes, I hugged him. I was just as surprised as you, I didn't think I had that in me."

"Maybe you're trying to move on?" Jackie suggested.

Eric smiled at that thought, "I hope so."

"Me too," Jackie said as they both looked back out into the world, outside the hospital.

They wanted out so badly. They both wanted to be better. Jackie felt a little better after telling her mother how she felt, but her mother was probably going to forget about it all in a day and she'd still go to Mexico. That's just how she operated. She just didn't care. Eric's parents were always nice to Jackie. If Red said he was going to make something better, he was going to make it better, that's the way he operated.

"I've got a craving for McDonald's," Eric suddenly said, making Jackie look over at him funny.

"What?" Jackie chuckled.

"I want a hamburger," Eric said, "A real hamburger, these ones here just taste like cardboard. And I want fries… McDonald's has the best fries… I'd really like a soda, too."

Jackie nodded, "Yeah, a soda would be nice."

"There's a McDonald's down the road a little bit," Eric said, "I saw it on the way here."

Jackie smiled, "Well, when we get out of here I will take you to McDonald's, okay?"

"Really?" Eric asked, a cheerful smile on his face. It didn't look forced, and it didn't look sad, he looked like he genuinely felt good right now.

Jackie nodded, "Really."

Eric smiled and looked down at his feet again as Jackie looked back out at the world, her fingers curled around the fence. It was a nice night. The sun hadn't gone down yet, there was slight breeze, the sky had turned a nice shade of pale blue, the clouds were white and fluffy. Everything seemed at peace right now.

Eric looked down at Jackie and smiled sweetly at her, "I saw you stand up to her earlier."

Jackie gazed up at him curiously, "Who?"

"You know…" Eric trailed off, as if he didn't want to say her name.

"Shaw?" Jackie asked and Eric nodded. She adjusted her shoulders, "What a bitch. It was my pleasure to yell at her, I just wish I could've told her everything I wanted to, but… That wouldn't be fair to you."

Eric smiled softly and said, "Thanks anyway. It was nice seeing the shocked look on her face."

Jackie scowled, "A black eye would look better."

Eric snickered. He was sort of touched at how much Jackie disliked this woman. She really cared about him, it warmed his heart a little.

"She'll get what's coming to her one day," Jackie said, shaking her head and looking up at Eric, seeing the sort of saddened look on his face now, "You are going to tell someone eventually right?"

Eric looked down at his feet now, frowning as he shrugged, "I don't know…"

"Eric, I don't want to push you or anything, but… You have to tell somebody or she'll do this to other boys," Jackie said and she saw Eric flinch.

"I know…" Eric nodded, pulling at the fence a little bit, "I guess I'm just… Scared."

"Of what?" Jackie asked curiously.

Eric shrugged, "Of everyone's reaction, I guess… What will my parents think? My friends? They'd all look at me differently."

Jackie shook her head, "I don't think they would. You've been friends with Steven and Michael and all of them for years. Nobody would look at you different, Eric. They'd all be worried, I know that for a fact."

"I don't anyone to pity me," Eric said, a little bitterness in his tone, "I don't want to be that guy that everyone feels sorry for. I just want to be normal."

"You are normal, Eric," Jackie said, "You're not the only one, you know."

Eric nodded and looked down at his feet again, "I know… But it sure does feel that way."

Jackie wanted to help him, she just didn't know how.

"I wish we could turn back time and assess our problems before they got too out of hand," Jackie said, "Back before they made us come to this place."

Eric nodded in agreement, "Me too."

Jackie sighed and leaned against the fence, looking out at the city of Milwaukee. It was so pretty at night. The street light were starting to come on now as the sun began to set beyond the horizon now. Jackie was proud of herself today, it's something she hasn't felt in a long time. While she knows her mother will probably still leave her, she finally said what she wanted to say, and it sure did feel good.

"Do you ever just want to scream?" Eric suddenly asked, gazing at the city beyond them, "Are you ever just so angry with everything and everybody that you just want to yell?"

Jackie nodded, "Hell yes."

"I want to do that right now," Eric said, a bitter tone in his voice.

Jackie looked up at him, "Then do it. You've got all of this wide open space. I'm sure Milwaukee would love to hear from you."

Eric shook his head, "I don't want everybody to hear me, though."

"I do," Jackie said, suddenly standing back away from the fence, Eric watching her curiously as she set her shoulders back and inhaled a deep breath, then she just yelled, "Fuck you!"

Eric laughed at her it was so funny. Jackie looked over at him and smiled. Man, it was great to hear that laugh again. It wasn't just a short little laugh, it was a real laugh. He thought what she just did was hysterical and she didn't know why, but she didn't care, so she did it again, "Fuck you, Milwaukee!"

Eric chuckled and stepped back from the fence now, wanting to tell everyone to screw off as well, "Fuck you, Wisconsin!"

Jackie giggled at Eric now and continued to yell, "Fuck everybody!"

"Fuck this hospital!" Eric yelled.

"Yeah! Fuck this place!" Jackie shouted, both of them giggling now.

"Screw the staff!" Eric went on.

"And the nurses!" Jackie continued.

"Especially Mrs. Shaw!" Eric yelled, and Jackie smiled over at him proudly. There you go, Eric.

"Yeah, fuck you, Shaw!" Jackie cried, "You evil bitch!"

Eric laughed and wiped his eyes of tears he was laughing so much. Jackie giggled just watching him laugh. They both needed that. That was fun.

But then they heard somebody clear their throat from behind them, and they both froze and turned around to see the director and therapist Julia standing there, her arms crossed, her foot tapping, and one eyebrow cocked as she gazed at the two in curious disappointment.

"Uh-oh," Was all Jackie said.

0-0-0-0-0

"Care to explain to me what all of that was about?" Julia asked as she sat behind her desk, the two in trouble sat in front of her, both looking ashamed. They looked like Kindergartner's who just got in trouble for stealing another kid's toy.

"We wanted to let out some steam," Jackie admitted, looking up at Julia and shrugging her shoulders, "Isn't that what you wanted us to do?"

"While in session," Julia said, "And without using curse words. F this place? Screw the staff? And the nurses? What is wrong with you two?"

Eric just shrugged, "This place sucks."

"Yeah, come on, you can't expect us to just not let out some steam every once in a while," Jackie said, "We're trapped in this hospital, the food sucks, the session leaders are annoying, the nurses are patronizing, it's fun to just yell profanities into the wind every once in a while."

It was hard for Julia to argue with that.

"Everyone heard you," Julia scolded anyway.

"That was kind of the point," Jackie said bluntly.

Julia sighed and massaged her temples, "You two can't just go out there and start yelling senselessly. You could alarm the other residents, we don't want any panic going around."

Well, that was understandable.

"Sorry, we were just a little angry and we just thought we should release some of that pent up aggression," Jackie said, "We'll try not to do it again."

"You won't do it again," Julia told them sternly, "We don't need the other residents freaking out. Understood?"

"Understood," The two repeated.

Julia then looked over at Eric accusingly, "And F Mrs. Shaw?" Eric tensed as Julia looked over to Jackie, "F that evil bitch?"

The two stayed silent.

"Mrs. Shaw is one of my best nurses," Julia went on, looking between the two in disappointment, "What did she ever do to either of you?"

Eric was gripping the side of his chair tightly now, his knuckles white with the amount of force he pushed onto them.

"She's just mean," Jackie said, glaring at nothing in particular.

"Mean?" Julia asked, scoffing as if that were the most ridiculous thing she's ever heard, "Mrs. Shaw is the nicest woman I've met and hired. I don't know where you got the idea that she was 'evil.'"

Jackie looked over at Eric who was avoiding everyone's gaze now. Julia looked over the young man, having caught Jackie's curious gaze towards him.

"Eric? Is there something you'd like to share?" Julia asked.

Eric shook his head, "No."

Julia raised an eyebrow curiously, looking over at Jackie who was gazing back at her now, seeming nervous herself now.

"What are you two not telling me?" Julia asked curiously, seeming a little anxious now, "Jackie?"

Jackie stayed silent, slightly shaking her head. Julia looked between the two, trying to figure out what was going on, "Maybe I should call Mrs. Shaw in."

Eric snapped his head up suddenly and shook his head, "No, you don't have to do that!"

Julia's hand hovered over her phone as she gazed at the fearful boy curiously, "And why not?"

"B-because…" Then he shook his head, "I can't…"

"You can't what?" Julia asked, looking over at Jackie briefly and then back at Eric, "What's going on?"

"You just have to trust me, Julia. Mrs. Shaw is a bad person," Eric suddenly said, his hazel eyes pleading, "You can't call her in here. She'll be mad at me."

"Why would she be mad at you?" Julia asked, these sort of hints familiar to her.

"Because… She'll think I told you…" Eric said. It was like he was trying to tell her the truth, but he didn't want to come out and say it, so he was just dropping hints, "Then she'll… Do bad things…"

Julia knew what these sort of hints sounded like, she's heard them before, but generally these arose when she was dealing with women, not men.

"Eric, what happened?" Julia asked, leaning forward curiously.

Eric looked up at her. He'd told her too much at this point, she was onto him. He had to tell her, he didn't really have a choice anymore. So he told her.

0-0-0-0-0

Eric sat outside Julia's office with Jackie. They've been sitting here for over an hour. Mrs. Shaw was in there, Julia had called her in. She'd also called the cops. There'd be an investigation. God, he was going to have to tell them everything.

Eric had been surprisingly composed through all of this though, Jackie thinks he's holding it down. He was very fidgety, both his feet were tapping, but Jackie noticed his fists were clenched very tightly, his fingernails were digging into the palms of his hands.

"They've been in there for a while," Eric spoke, looking across the hall at the wall.

Jackie looked over at him, her expression soft, "You wouldn't think they'd be much longer."

Eric tapped his foot impatiently, "Do you think she's going to call my parents?"

Jackie thought for a moment before she shook her head, "No, I don't think so. You're twenty-two, she'd only do that if you were still a minor you'd think."

"Do you think they're going to believe me?" Eric asked suddenly, looking over at Jackie finally, "The police, I mean."

Jackie furrowed her brow, "Why wouldn't they?"

Eric shrugged his shoulders loosely, "I just feel like they won't believe me… Nobody believed Gordon's friend."

"Gordon's friend was delusional," Jackie reminded him, "They thought he was hallucinating. You're not delusional."

Eric still didn't seem to believe it, "I don't know…"

Jackie gazed up at Eric curiously, "Eric. What did she do? Did she say something to make you feel like this?"

Eric looked down at his clenched fists in his lap, "Yeah."

Jackie felt a pang of anger shoot through her, "What did she say?"

Eric sighed and looked over at Jackie sadly, "She said if I told anybody she'd tell the police that I forced myself onto her."

Jackie didn't think she could hate this woman any more, but apparently she could.

"She's going to prison, Eric," Jackie told him confidently, "You'll be okay."

Eric didn't respond to her, he just at in his seat in silence. Jackie clenched her fists and glared at the floor between her feet. She wanted all of this to be over, she was sure Eric did as well. Suddenly, both of their attention was caught when they heard running footsteps and heavy breathing and then they saw their friend slide around the corner.

He tried to catch his breath and he looked down at Jackie, "Hey. I heard the fuzz were here. What happened?"

Jackie looked up at Gordon and then over at Eric. Eric looked up at Gordon as well and said, "I told Julia what Shaw did."

Gordon stood there for a minute, taking a moment to really let that sink in, then he smiled, "Really? That's great, Eric!" Gordon smiled as he stepped over to his friend, then he saw the older man's sad look and he frowned, "Is it not great?"

Jackie looked up at Gordon, an angry glint in her eye, "That woman is evil, Gordon."

"What'd she do now?" Gordon asked, looking down at Eric, "What happened?"

Jackie explained to Gordon what Shaw told Eric and he seemed just as angry as Jackie now. Gordon pulled out a chair from the other side of the hall and pulled it over to sit next to Eric, his arms crossed now.

"Don't worry, Eric," Gordon said, "You've got two people here on your side, maybe even more…"

Eric still didn't seem to be buying it. He kept his gaze on his tapping feet and scratched at chair on either side of him.

Gordon sighed and frowned before he began to tell Eric something he's never told anyone else, "I should tell you something."

Eric didn't look over at him, he just replied with, "What?"

Gordon sighed again nervously, "A few months ago she tried doing it to me, too."

Both Eric and Jackie looked over at Gordon in surprise, "What?" They both said.

Gordon nodded, "She didn't get as far, but… She did attempt. She got really suggestive and she… Did some other stuff, but… I never let it happen. She did tell me though that if I ever told anyone about it she would tell the cops that I raped her. I was scared so I didn't tell anybody, but now… I'll speak for you in court, man. You have my word."

"Thanks…" Eric smiled sadly, but hopefully, but he frowned a moment later, "Why did I let it happen?"

Gordon frowned again, "You didn't."

"But I did," Eric said, "You stopped her. Why couldn't I?"

"Eric, we're two completely different people in here for completely different things," Gordon said, "I didn't stop her in the act, I ran from her, kept her from doing it. It got pretty far one time, but somebody walked in, so she had to stop. She cornered you, and you're very vulnerable now. She realized she wouldn't get anywhere with me so she left me alone, but she still threatened me. She still hurt me, just not as bad… Just know it's not your fault, Eric. Don't blame yourself."

Eric adjusted his shoulders and looked down at his feet, "I try not to, I just can't help feeling that way."

Gordon hardened his gaze, "She'll get what's coming to her, buddy. I promise."

Eric nodded, but stayed silent. The three friends stayed silent for a little while, all of them trying to patient and await what would happen next. The waited for about another fifteen minutes or so before Julia's office door opened. They all tensed at the sound of it squeaking. Jackie and Gordon looked towards the door, but Eric kept his gaze on the floor. The only person to walk out was a policeman. He stepped over to the three and looked down at them all, a stern look on his face.

"Eric Forman?" He said, his voice deep.

Eric tensed and swallowed nervously before he slowly brought his head up to look at the police officer, "Yes?"

The man softened his gaze a little bit before he spoke, "We're going to have to ask you some questions, if that's alright."

Eric nodded, "Okay."

The man took a step back and let Eric stand, noticing the boy was trembling in nervousness. He led Eric away from his friends and to an empty room across the hall, letting Eric in before him before he also walked into the room and then he closed the door.

So they waited.

0-0-0-0-0

They sat there for about half an hour before a police officer asked them some questions. Jackie told them the way Eric's been acting and the way Shaw's been acting, Gordon told them the same thing and he told them the story of his roommate Riz and what Shaw tried doing to he himself a few months before Eric got here.

Gordon, Jackie, and Eric seemed to all have a similar story when it came to Shaw's behavior, but they'd have to ask a few of the other residents some questions as well to really see if everything matched up. So they sent Gordon and Jackie off to handle their own business, but Eric stayed in that room for a while with the other policeman.

It was nine o'clock and Jackie was in her room with Josie. She tried entertaining herself, but her mind was focused on Eric. She had to know what was going on. Was he okay? Was Shaw going to get in trouble? She sure hoped she was.

Jackie sighed as she laid on her back on her bed, looking up at the ceiling.

"Jackie, you've been sighing for the past hour," Josie said, looking at the girl in a confused way, "What the hell is going on?"

Nobody ever told Josie what was happening. Jackie told her the police were here and she told her that Eric was involved, but she didn't say anything else. Josie thought Eric was in trouble.

"Please, tell me," Josie begged, giving Jackie a pleading looked as she turned to face her.

Jackie shook her head, "I don't know…"

Would Eric want this? Did he really want everyone to know? The police had already asked some other residents some questions about Shaw's behavior and her behavior towards Eric, some people probably knew by now.

"Jackie, I just want to know what's going on," Josie said, "Is Eric alright? Is he in trouble?"

Jackie shook her head, "No, Eric's not in trouble."

"Then why are the police here?" Josie asked, trying to get answers.

"They're here for Shaw," Jackie said bluntly, her anger coming out just speaking that woman's name.

"Shaw? The nurse?" Josie asked, her brow furrowed now, "What'd she do? And what's it got to do with Eric?"

Jackie sighed and closed her eyes for a minute, trying to gather her thoughts. Her brain was all jumbled up tonight, she couldn't think straight.

She had to tell her. She was going to find out eventually. Eric knew everyone was going to know soon.

"She's a rapist," Jackie spat venom.

"What?" Josie gasped, taken aback by that.

Jackie nodded and sat up finally, "She's been taking advantage of Eric for God knows how long. He hasn't told me the details, he doesn't want to and I'm not going to force it out of him. But she's apparently done this in the past as well, to Gordon and to Gordon's old roommate."

"Oh my God," Josie said quietly, putting a hand to her mouth, shaking her head, "I can't believe this."

Jackie nodded, "She's evil. I've seen the way she's looked at Eric, I've seen those weird glances. I should've caught on sooner, I could have saved him a whole lot of pain."

Josie couldn't believe what she was hearing, but at the same time, it didn't surprise her, "I noticed it, too."

"You did?" Jackie asked.

Josie nodded, "Yeah, to Eric, to Gordon sometimes. Even a couple of other boys, but usually Eric. I never thought anything of it, I thought she was just weird… But I've never been comfortable around her, she lets off this creepy sort of vibe. I guess now I know why."

Jackie sighed again and bowed her head, "I just hope Eric's okay."

Josie nodded in agreement and looked across the room at the wall, staring at it blankly. She was just trying to take this all in. The two girls just sat in silence for a while, neither of them having anything more to say.

It was about a half an hour before they heard a knock on their door, and they both turned towards it to see who it was.

"Eric," Jackie said as she sat up again, looking over at him curiously.

He didn't say anything, he just stood there. Josie looked over at Jackie and then at Eric before she stood, "I'm going to, uh… Leave you guys alone for a minute."

She walked over to the door, gracefully stepping around Eric, careful not to brush up against him, before she went out into the hall and down a little ways. She'd just go on a walk and maybe when she got back Eric would be gone.

Jackie stood and slowly approached Eric, her hazel eyes focused of him carefully, "How'd it go? Your talk with the police."

Eric looked down at the floor and released a shaky sigh before he simply said, "Julia fired her."

"What?" Jackie said, a little taken aback for some reason.

Eric nodded, swallowing thickly, trying to keep himself controlled, "And the police arrested her. They have a good story against her, some of the residents here told them that they never liked her or that she was kind of weird, and Gordon of course told them what happened to him and his roommate, so…"

"Well, this is good," Jackie smiled, taking a tiny step closer to him, but she frowned when she saw how watery his eyes were and how sad he looked, "Eric?"

He choked back a sob, still avoiding her eyes, "They told me this would probably go to court… I'm going to have to speak in front of a whole courtroom full of people. I'm going to have to tell everyone what happened. My parents, my friends… You."

Jackie frowned deeper now and took another step closer, now standing directly in front of him, "Eric, it's going to be okay."

"How do you know that?!" Eric snapped suddenly, but his shaky voice got in the way of his bitter tone, "They're all going to think that I'm pathetic! That I'm weak! This is horrible!"

"Eric, calm down," Jackie tried, putting her hands out in front of her, "Nobody is going to think that. All your friends, your family, they all love you. The only thing that they're going to feel when they're sitting in that court room is worry. They'll be worried about you, they'll be scared."

"What am I going to tell my parents?" Eric cried, the tears falling now.

"You'll tell them the truth. You'll tell them what happened," Jackie said, her hands still outstretched, "When they find out what happened, they'll feel horrible. They'll feel worried, sad, angry… If you're hurt, they hurt, too. They will stand by you until the end of time, Eric."

"I'm so scared," Eric said, finally breaking down.

Jackie felt her heart drop at that. She watched as Eric finally slumped his shoulders and he finally let himself cry. Jackie wanted to comfort him, but he was so vulnerable right now. She didn't want to scare him. Eric stumbled back and let his back hit the wall next to the door, then he slid down into a sitting position, bowed his head, and cried.

Jackie just stood there, unsure of how to comfort him. She couldn't touch him, she didn't know what say. What a predicament she's in.

Jackie slowly stepped over to him and knelt down, reaching out her hands, but not doing anything other than that. She opened and closed her mouth a few times like a fish out of water, trying to come up with something to say, but nothing came to mind.

So all she said was, "Eric… I-I don't know what to do. Tell me what to do."

Eric slumped his shoulders and peered up at Jackie. She looked so lost, like a little puppy. Her hands were outstretched, but they just sort of hovered as she tried finding the right words to say. Eric clenched and unclenched his fists a few times before he quickly sat up on his knees and suddenly pulled Jackie into a hug.

She was surprised at the sudden contact. She wasn't expecting that to happen at all. He must really trust her. He had told her that a few days ago.

Jackie's hands hovered over Eric's back for a minute, still not sure if she herself should even lay her hands on him. His fists clenched the fabric of her shirt in his hands, clinging to her for dear life, his face buried in her shoulder as he sobbed. Jackie very gently placed her hands on his back. He didn't even tense this time, he seemed more relaxed actually. Jackie slowly let herself relax into his arms well, and eventually they were both comfortable in each other's embrace.

"Why did this happen to me?" Eric sobbed into her shoulder.

Jackie shook her head, feeling the tears burn her eyes now as she said with a trembling voice, "I don't know…"

He sobbed into her shirt, just letting the tears fall. He was so nervous and scared. He had to tell his friends and family. He had to tell a whole courtroom what happened to him in detail, he didn't want to do that. But he did want Shaw to be locked up, so he had to.

"They're coming tomorrow. My parents…" Eric told her, his arms latched around her.

Jackie slightly tightened her arms around Eric, "What are you going to do?"

Eric sniffled and shrugged, "I'm going to have to tell them."

Jackie pulled away for a moment, looking into Eric's hazel colored eyes. He kept his hands on her sides, her shirt gripped in his hands as he looked right back at her.

Jackie smiled a sad sort of smile at him, trying to make him feel better, "I can be there if you want."

Eric shook his head, "No. I need to do this."

Jackie nodded and released a gentle sigh, "Okay."

Eric's hands tightened around the fabric of Jackie's shirt and he looked down at the floor between them, not sure what to do now. Jackie's hands were on his shoulders gently, but she squeezed them reassuringly.

"Eric," She said, making him look up at her again.

"Yeah?" Eric said sadly, sniffling again.

"I'm proud of you," Jackie told him honestly, "What you did today was very brave. A lot of people in this situation never speak out, but you did. I'm so proud of you."

Then Eric cried again as he latched his arms around Jackie again, and she gladly held him. What she just told him gave him a little hope. Some hope that everything would be okay, and that one day he could be happy again. That one day he could be free of this place and live a normal life. But for right now, Jackie was just happy to be there for him. He needed her, and she was going to be there.

She wanted to help him, she wanted him to be better. So no matter what he needed, she'd always be there.


	11. Chapter 11

A/N – Alright guys, sorry I didn't update yesterday, I had a bad day. I saw Chris Cornell died and I'm a huge grunge fan and that really broke me up. May he rest in peace. Anyway, here's an long update, it's very angsty and Hyde makes an appearance. Yay! Thanks for the reviews, I'd respond to them, but I've got to help my mom out with some packing. I might update this once or twice before I leave for vacation for a week, but who knows. So, when I don't update this week, don't panic, I'll be back next weekend.

I hope you enjoy this new chapter. :)

Disclaimer – Read the first chapter's.

His parents were coming today, Julia had called them and told them it was urgent. Of course, they were worried. They thought something happened to Eric, and of course something did happen to Eric, just not what they think. The police would want to talk to them, they'd want to hear their opinion on Eric's behavior as of late. Eric tried telling them that he barely talks to parents, but because he had just a little contact with them in the past four months he's been here they wanted to talk to them. They'd probably ask him some other people he's associated himself with, too. Like Hyde, who'd also know about all of this sooner or later.

Eric was dreading today. He didn't want to see the looks on his parents faces when the police explained to them what just had happened. His parents didn't even know the police were here, they didn't really have too much of a clue what was going on.

"Eric, you'll be fine," Jackie was trying to calm him down as they waited for his parents to arrive.

Eric was very fidgety, his feet were tapping, he was scratching at his knees with his chewed back fingernails. He's been a basket case all morning.

"What are they going to think?" Eric asked, really wanting answers.

"They're going to be worried about you, like I've already said," Jackie said, looking down at his hands that were flapping, "Eric, calm down. You're going to send yourself into an anxiety attack."

Eric shook his head, "I think it's too late for that."

Jackie quickly grabbed Eric's hand, which was a bad move, because he yelped and jumped, not expecting the sudden contact. Jackie kept her hand on his though, even though she was regretful, "Hey, it's just me… See?"

Eric looked down at her hand resting on top of his trembling one, his hazel eyes wide with alarm as he pushed his gaze towards her eyes, but he stayed silent. Jackie sighed and pulled her hand away, both of them breaking eye contact with each other.

Eric looked down at his hands in his lap sadly, "Sorry…"

Jackie shook her head, "Eric, it's fine. I understand."

"I'm trying to be more comfortable with it, but…" Eric tried to explain.

"Eric," Jackie said sharply, gaining his attention, "Just take your time. There's no rush."

Eric nodded and looked down at his shoes now, feeling awkward about the whole thing. He feels like he's scared her off.

"Eric?" His mother's voice suddenly caught his attention and jolted him out of his thoughts. He looked up and saw both his parents rushing toward him, a look of worry on both of their faces.

"Mom, Dad…" Eric said, his shoulders tensing as he sat up a little.

"Honey, what happened?" Kitty asked him, her eyes showing concern, "Are you okay? You aren't hurt are you?"

"No," He lied, a sad look in his eye, "I-I'll explain later, I just—"

"Good, you're both here," The policeman suddenly said, stepping out of the empty room. He must of heard all the commotion, "Mr. and Mrs. Forman, I'm Officer Chapell, nice to meet you both."

He shook both of their hands, both Red and Kitty looking very confused. Red asked, "What's all of this about? Did Eric do something wrong?"

Officer Chapell shook his head, "No, no, he's done nothing wrong, not at all. If you could just step into the office, we can talk all of this out."

Red and Kitty shared a weird look, then they cast their gaze towards their son, who looked as nervous as can be, then they looked back to the police officer.

"Okay," They both said.

"Right this way," Officer Chapell said, moving out of their way and looking down at Eric, "Come on, son."

Eric released a tense breath, his heart beating so hard he was sure someone else could hear it, "You'll do fine," Jackie assured him, "I'll be right out here waiting for you, okay?"

Eric nodded, but stayed silent before he stood. He then followed the officer to the office, giving Jackie one final look before he stepped through the door and it was closed behind him. He went over to sit with his parents, in between them actually as Officer Chapell went to sit on the other side of them, facing them all.

"Alright, Mr. and Mrs. Forman," Chapell said, looking between the two, "How are you two this morning?"

"We're fine. What's going on?" Red asked, still so confused.

"There's been an incident," Chapell said after a brief moment of silence. They noticed there was a folder on the desk in front of him.

"What kind of incident?" Red asked curiously, getting annoyed with this confusion and waiting.

"Well, it seems your son had been involved in a little something with one of the nurses here," Chapell said, Eric's heart beating faster and faster it seemed, "Something happened."

"What did you do?" Red suddenly accused, sending his son a sort of glare.

Eric flinched and avoided his father's stare, trying to keep himself calm, his fingernails digging into the palms of his hands, drawing blood.

"He didn't do anything, Mr. Forman," Officer Chapell assured, "It's more of what she did."

Now both his parent's faces fell, "What?"

The police officer looked over at Eric now, "Eric, is there anything you'd like to interject?"

Eric looked up at the officer nervously, but he quickly looked away a moment later, "No…"

The officer frowned and looked over at Red and Kitty, his face having gone from friendly to saddened and sort of stern, "Mr. and Mrs. Forman… Has Eric acted odd to you lately? Over the phone I mean. He says he calls you sometimes. Did you ever notice anything out of character for him?"

Kitty looked at Red for a moment as she thought, "Well… We just found out he was here not that long ago… Over the phone he always did seem sort of… Different."

"Different how? How is he usually?" Chapell asked curiously.

"I don't know… Funny, witty, cheerful," Kitty said, shrugging, "When we would talk on the phone he sounded, well… Depressed."

"Did it seem to get worse over time?" Chapell asked.

"Well, now that you mention it… Yes," Kitty nodded, looking over at Eric in worry now, "Eric, what's going on here? What won't you tell us?"

Eric adjusted in his seat awkwardly, refusing to speak.

"Mr. and Mrs. Forman," Chapell garnered the couple's attention again, "The nurse involved in this incident, Nurse Shaw, Eric here says she did some things to him, and we have some other people backing him up, as well as some newfound evidence."

Newfound evidence? What was he talking about? Eric was concerned now.

"Would you just spit it out, already?" Red snapped impatiently.

Officer Chapell looked at Red and Kitty solemnly before he said, "Mr. and Mrs. Forman, we have reason to believe that Nurse Shaw raped your son."

Kitty gasped, the tears immediately forming in her eyes and Red just looked shocked, his entire body going stiff. Eric tried to keep himself together, his eyes were watery though as he forced himself to look at his parents.

Kitty looked over at him, a small hand covering her mouth as she sort of reached out to him with her free hand, "Eric… Is that true?"

Eric bit his bottom lip, trying to stop his eyes from burning. He nodded, "Yes, it's true."

Kitty broke down crying then, "My poor baby!"

She leaned over and hugged him, which he pretty much expected. He put his hands on her back and closed his eyes tight, hoping maybe that'd stop the tears from falling. He opened his eyes a moment later to look over at his dad over his mother's shoulder; he still looked in shock.

"I know this is hard on all three of you," Officer Chapell went on a minute or two later, as he grabbed the folder from the desk and opened it, not yet letting the family in front of him see the contents inside, "We looked into Shaw's criminal background, and we found some very revealing things."

Kitty finally pulled away from Eric, wiping her eyes, her hand holding her son's trembling one.

"For one, her name isn't Shaw," Chapell said.

"What?" Eric said suddenly, looking just as surprised as everyone else.

Chapell shook his head, "Her real name is Samantha Oliver and her record shows she's been arrested twice. Once about ten years ago for sexual harassment, and another five years ago for sexual abuse on a minor... And now, we have claims that she's abused several patients here at this hospital in recent months, one of them your friend, is that correct, Eric?"

Eric was quiet for a minute, then he nodded, "Yes sir."

"He claims that Oliver tried to preform sexual acts on him about a month before you got here," Chapell said, "He also claims his old roommate was raped by her, and then he killed himself a week later."

Kitty and Red were both looking at Chapell now, Kitty's grip on Eric's hand tightening. Eric nodded at Chapell's words, "That's what he told me."

"Is there any evidence to back this up?" Red suddenly asked, seeming angry.

Chapell looked over at Red and then down at the folder in his hands, grabbing something inside of it, "Yes…" He looked over at Eric for a moment, "There's a security camera in the empty hall in the boy's ward. Ms. Julia told me that it's been broken for years, but apparently that wasn't the case… Did she used to take you to that empty hall, Eric?"

Eric swallowed thickly and then nodded, "Yes."

"We watched the footage," Chapell said and Eric's face paled, "We printed some screenshots up for evidence to use in court… You have a strong case against her, Eric."

Eric looked away when Officer Chapell pulled out the suggestive pictures and set them on the desk in front of his parents, who looked away immediately.

"Eric," Chapell said softly, trying to get the boy to look at him, "When did this start?"

Eric shrugged, avoiding the older man's gaze. He swallowed again and released a sigh, "The eleventh of last month."

He remembered it vividly.

Kitty gasped again and covered her mouth with both hands now, "It's been a month and a half?"

"Did this happen every day, or was it more sporadic?" Chapell asked.

Eric didn't want to say it, but he knew he had to, "She did it six times."

Kitty was crying again, Red looked both angry and saddened by this whole thing. Chapell looked down sadly and cleared his throat before he looked back up at the three.

"I've talked to Oliver," Chapell said, "She's very controlling, and very manipulative. She likes to have power… Just by talking to her, I can tell. She seemed happy with what she's done."

"Did she confess?" Red asked.

Chapell shook his head, "No… She tried claiming that…" He released a sigh, as if he didn't believe the woman himself, "She tried claiming that Eric raped her."

Eric snapped his head up in panic now, "What?!"

"No! My baby would never do anything like that! Is she insane?!" Kitty cried angrily, the tears just streaming down her cheeks.

Chapell shook his head, "She doesn't sell a strong case. She has no evidence, and the way she describes Eric is nothing like how he is here before me… But she has a lawyer now. You're going to need one, too."

"How long will the trial last?" Eric asked.

Chapell shrugged a little, "With this evidence and her factually inaccurate story… Hopefully not long."

"I'll get you a good lawyer," Red suddenly said, but he didn't look over at Eric, he was looking down at his hands in shock and anger, "I'll get you the best damn lawyer I can find, and… And we'll make sure she's put away forever."

Eric's eyes were filled with tears, but he somehow had managed to keep them from spilling down his face. He had surprised himself.

"When does the trial start?" Kitty asked curiously, wiping her eyes and trying to stop herself from crying.

Chapell shrugged his shoulders, unsure, "It couldn't start anytime in the next two weeks to the next three months… I'm trying to get this rolling as fast as I can, but I can only do so much…"

"I just want this to be over," Eric said quietly, his emotions beginning to get the best of him.

Chapell nodded, "I know… I know this is hard for you, and I wish this didn't have to drag on so long, but… That's just the way it is."

Eric wiped his eyes with his hands, keeping his tears back. Kitty was still crying, she was desperately trying to stop, but she wasn't succeeding. Red looked angry and nervous and scared, all of his emotions all bundled into one. Eric's never seen him like this.

Chapell grabbed the pictures off the desk in front of him and put them back in the folder surely before he suddenly stood, "I'll leave you three alone for a moment, if you'd like."

Kitty nodded, but both Red and Eric kept their heads bowed. Chapell went around the desk, straightening his tie, before he went to the exit and left the room, closing the door behind him.

Kitty looked over at Eric, the tears still rolling, but more controlled now, "Eric… Honey…"

Eric flinched when his mother grabbed his hand gently, but he let her keep ahold of it as he looked over at her. She searched his face for the exact emotion he was feeling, and she figured out that it was fear.

"This is going to get all sorted out," Kitty said nervously, giving him a sympathetic look, "Everything will be fine, you'll be fine…"

"I can't believe this," Red said, standing finally, angrily. Both Kitty and Eric looked up at him curiously, "I can't believe you let her—"

"Let her?!" Eric cried, standing suddenly, his mother letting go of his hand. Eric glared at his father, but there was more sadness than anything in his eyes, "I didn't let her do anything! I was scared, she told me she'd tell everybody that I raped her! What was I supposed to do?!"

"Eric, that's not what I meant—" Red tried, immediately regretting his words. He didn't mean to phrase it that way, it was a slip of the tongue. He knew it wasn't his son's fault.

"Then what did you mean?!" Eric cried, the tears burning his eyes now.

"Both of you calm down," Kitty urged, standing herself now and looking between the two, but her eyes eventually landed on Eric, "Eric, sweetie, you know he didn't mean that. He doesn't think it's your fault."

"Then why'd he say it?" Eric asked, his voice breaking, but his gaze was firm.

"It was just a mistake," Kitty said, holding up her hands to calm him down, "Right Red?"

Red nodded, sending his son a saddened gaze, but he kept averting his eyes, "I don't think it's your fault, son. I want more than anything to lock that woman up for the rest of her life."

Eric finally averted his eyes as well, looking down at the ground irritably. Kitty looked between the two nervously, but there was one thing on her mind.

"Six times?" Kitty asked, looking up at Eric sadly, the tears stinging her eyes again.

Eric flinched, but he nodded.

"How could she do such a thing?" Kitty asked herself in disgust, "And feel good about it?"

Eric couldn't stand this any longer. He had to get out of here.

"I-I got to go," Eric suddenly said, starting towards the door, but Kitty grabbed his arm, stopping him.

"Wait," She said, looking up at him in worry.

"Why?" Eric snapped irritably, his eyes holding nothing but fear and sadness, "What do you want me to stay here for? There's nothing else to say. What, do you want me to explain to you every little thing she did to me?"

"No, of course not," Kitty tried.

"I'm going," Eric snapped, looking over at his father.

"Eric, honey, please stay," Kitty tried again, but he shrugged out of her grasp.

"He won't even look at me," Eric spat, pointing to his father angrily before he turned around and walked out the door, slamming it shut behind him.

0-0-0-0-0

"So… What's this all about?" Steven asked Jackie. He had driven Red and Kitty here, curious as to what was going on himself.

They were both sitting outside the closed office where the family were with the police officer. Jackie shook her head, "I think I should let Eric tell you."

"Is it bad?" Steven asked, "Well, I'm assuming it's bad if the police are involved. Did he do something?"

Jackie shook her head, "No, he didn't do anything."

The door to the office suddenly opened and the policeman stepped out, closing the door firmly behind him. Steven stood quickly and walked over to him, "Hey… What's going on?"

"I'm afraid I can't say, sir," The officer said.

"That kid in there, I'm his brother," Steven said, "I want to know what's going on."

"I think you should just stay patient. You'll find out soon enough," The officer said before he turned and went down the hallway.

Steven sighed and stepped back, going to sit back down next to Jackie, "Well… I tried."

Jackie grabbed his hand, "Eric will tell you soon."

Steven nodded and looked down at his feet. Well, since they were waiting… "So, how've you been? Is this place helping at all?"

Jackie thought for a moment, and then she shrugged, "A little. I yelled at my mom one time."

Steven smiled, "Nice."

"Yeah, that felt good," Jackie smiled proudly, "I've just been hanging out with Eric a lot recently. This whole thing has really gotten the best of him."

"I wish I knew what this 'thing' was," Steven said.

Jackie gave him a smile, "Be patient."

Steven and Jackie then fell into a comfortable silence. They sat there for a few minutes, but not very long, because the door to the office opened once again, but with more force this time, and it slammed loudly. Both Steven and Jackie looked up to see what had happened and they saw Eric had just stormed out the room, looking angry, fearful, and sad.

They both stood.

"Forman," Steven said, approaching him with caution, "What's up? What happened?"

"I don't want to talk to anyone right now," Eric snapped, wiping his eyes of the tears that finally escaped his eyes, "Just leave me alone."

Eric then rushed down the hallway. They couldn't let him go off by himself, there's no telling what he would do. Jackie looked up at Steven and patted him on the back, "You go. I'll talk to Red and Kitty."

Steven nodded curtly and went after Eric as Jackie went to the office to check on Eric's parents. Steven went around the corner where Eric had gone, but he didn't see him. He furrowed his brow and looked around curiously. Where had he gone?

Steven walked down the hall a little, looking for the boy. He eventually came across a bathroom. Maybe he went in there. Steven entered the bathroom and looked around. It was empty. Maybe he was in one of the stalls?

Steven stepped into the room a little further, "Forman? Are you in here, man?"

No reply.

Steven started looking under the stall doors for feet, and he didn't see anything until he came the stall at the end of the bathroom.

"Forman?" Steven called.

"Go away…" Eric sniffled.

Steven sighed and tried opening the door, but it was locked, "Unlock the door, Forman."

"No," Eric said bluntly.

Steven was a bit anxious now. The last time Eric locked himself in the bathroom he was trying to kill himself. Steven remembers it like it was yesterday.

"Forman, if you don't unlock this door right now, I am going to have to kick it down," Steven warned, but Eric didn't say anything back, "Alright, I warned you."

Steven stepped back and released a tense breath before he forcefully kicked his foot into the stall door and it flew open. He rushed into the stall a moment later and looked down at the floor where Eric was. With a piece of glass in his hand.

Steven quickly knelt down and snatched the broken shard from his hand, it was covered in blood.

"Where the hell did you get this?!" Steven snapped in anger and worry as he looked for the area on Eric that was bleeding.

"I broke the mirror," Eric said, his speech sort of slurred, like he was in shock, "Didn't you see?"

Steven then realized that Eric's hand was bleeding from where he hit the mirror and he hadn't cut himself. He sighed in relief and put the glass in his coat pocket so Eric didn't pick it back up.

"You can't do stuff like this, man," Steven told him firmly, "I told you to stop doing this."

"I'm sorry…" Eric said quietly, avoiding Steven's eyes.

Steven watched Eric as he started to break down again. Steven sighed. How had his group of friends ended up this way? He didn't ever talk to Fez, he rarely saw Donna, Kelso was busy with Betsy and Brooke. Jackie and Eric were the only ones that he talked to on a regular basis and they were in a mental hospital for attempting suicide.

"Eric," Steven said his first name. He didn't usually use his first name, he always called him by his last. If he ever used his first name, you knew he was being serious, "What happened? Why are the police here? What happened between you and your parents?"

Eric sniffled and kept his eyes on the floor, "I'm tired of talking about this…"

"What is 'this?'" Steven asked, "What happened?"

Eric wiped his eyes and let out a sob, "I was raped…"

"What?" Steven said immediately, but when Eric didn't reply, he grabbed his arms, making him look up at him, "Who did it? Tell me so I can go kick their ass."

Eric shook his head, "She's not here. The police have her."

Steven shook his head, feeling overwhelmed with anger. He looked down at Eric who was sobbing uncontrollably now.

Steven's face fell, "Eric… I'm so sorry this happened to you. I wish we could go back and… And I wish I could've done something to help you before any of this happened… I wish I would've seen it sooner."

Eric ran his hands down his face, trying to wipe away the tears, "It's only going to get worse, now."

"You're going to be okay," Steven said, and Eric suddenly glared at him, but it was hard to see the anger over the sadness.

"Why does everybody keep telling me that?!" Eric snapped, clenching his fists, "How do you know that? How does anyone know that?!"

"Eric—"

"God! Just leave me alone!" Eric cried, wanting so desperately to be alone.

Steven shook his head, "Now, you know I can't do that."

Eric ran his fingers through his hair, pulling at it irritably. He then pulled his knees closer to his chest and wrapped his arms around his legs, burying his face in his arms. He let out a muffled scream of frustration and Steven even felt himself getting a little choked up. He's never seen Eric like this. So broken. This hospital was supposed to help him, but it seems that he's only gotten worse, and knowing what was done to him here, he'd get no better. Not while he was stuck here.

Eric pushed himself off the wall and tried to stand, to rush around Steven, but Steven acted quickly. He grabbed Eric's arm as he tried rushing out of the stall and he pulled back down, but Eric wrestled with him trying to escape.

"Let me go!" Eric yelled at his friend.

"I'm not going to do that," Steven tried keeping his voice calm as Eric kicked him. Steven's back hit the wall behind him, but he never let go of Eric, he used his other hand now to grab at his sweater, pulling him down now.

Eric gave up, he didn't want to fight anymore. Eric let Steven pull him down and he landed on his side. Steven had one arm around his middle as Eric's head rested in the pit of Steven's elbow as he began to sob again.

Steven was a little taken aback by Eric just giving up so easily, but he figured that the boy's had a lot on his plate today and it's probably exhausted him.

"It's okay…" Steven tried to calm him down, as one of Eric's hand's gripped the sleeve of Steven's coat and the other arm went around his back.

Eric couldn't be alone. Not now. Who knows what he'd do to himself if he were alone.

Steven kept his arms wrapped around Eric, and Eric was clinging to him like a lice.

"I can't do this," Eric sobbed, the side of his head rested against Steven's chest, "I can't go to trial."

"Yes, you can," Steven assured him, patting him on the back, "You have to."

Steven finally looked down at him now as Eric spoke again, "I can't tell everybody what she did to me!"

Steven frowned as Eric closed his eyes tight and sobbed again. Steven pulled his baby brother closer, just wanting him to be better. Why did all of this happen to him? Eric was a good guy, he's never done anything wrong. He's innocent. He's innocent and that's precisely why that woman went after him.

"I'm going to be there for you, okay?" Steven told him, "Whenever you need me I'll be there. Just like it's always been."

Eric tightened his arms around Steven, trying to stop the tears, but it wasn't going well.

"We're going to get you out of this hospital," Steven said, looking around the bathroom they were in, "I think it's just making this whole thing worse."

"They won't let me leave," Eric told him honestly, not wanting to leave this spot. He felt safe.

"They will if they're told that this place is making you more depressed than before," Steven said.

Eric sniffled, clawing at his brother's arm. He hated this place. He never wanted to see it again. This was the place of nightmares.

"I can't walk down the hallway anymore," Eric said quietly.

Steven raised a curious eyebrow, "What?"

"The hallway, the one that wraps around to go to the boy's ward… I can't go there anymore. That's where she… She…"

Steven tightened his arms around his brother and rubbed his arm soothingly, "I know… I know…"

Eric let out a choked sob as Steven continued to comfort him. Steven's never been a hugging type of person, but this was different. He couldn't let Eric go through this alone, he had to be there for him, and he would be. So would Jackie, and his parents, and all of their friends. Eric may have felt alone, but he was far from it.

"I need to go apologize to my parents," Eric suddenly said, and Steven looked down at him.

"What'd you say to them?" He asked.

"I just yelled at them," Eric shrugged, "I was angry."

"You yelled at your parents?" Steven asked, an eyebrow raised, "And Red didn't threaten to put a foot up your ass?"

Eric chuckled at that between a sniffle and Steven smiled. Well… There's something.

"Come on, buddy," Steven said, adjusting his position, "Let's get you up."

Eric nodded and pushed himself into a sitting position. Steven stood quickly and reached out his hand for Eric to grab. Eric grabbed ahold of it and let his brother pull him to his feet. After they were both standing and facing each other, Eric noticed the blood of Steven's coat and then he looked down at his bloodied hand.

"Sorry about your coat," Eric said, pointing to his arm.

Steven looked down at the stain and shrugged, "I need a new coat anyway… Come on, you need to wash that off."

Steven led Eric out of the stall and over to the sink, then he stood back and let Eric wash his hands off. He saw him wince a little at the sting of the water hitting his open wounds, but he relaxed a moment later.

Eric turned off the taps and dried his hands off before he turned back to Steven, who was smiling reassuringly.

"Come on, let's go find your parents."


	12. Chapter 12

A/N – Alright guys, I'm back. I got home yesterday afternoon, and I was so looking forward to writing, but I was so tired. I was in Florida and I walked everyday all day in the 95 degree burning sun and to add to that, I had to wake up at like five o'clock a.m. to get ready so we could leave, because we live 8 hours away. But I'm well rested now and getting used to being home again, so I wrote the next chapter. Thanks for the reviews everyone, I hope you enjoy.

Disclaimer – Read the first chapter's.

"Sir, I'm afraid I'm going to have to decline your request," Julia told Steven as she sat behind her desk.

He had to talk to the head of this place about getting his friends out of here. He was in here alone, and he hasn't told neither Jackie nor Eric what he was doing.

"Ma'am, with all due respect, this place is making my friend's worse," Steven said, shaking his head, "It's not what you're doing, it' just… Eric doesn't feel safe here, not anymore. That woman did some horrible things to him and every time he walks through this place he feels on edge. And Jackie… She's getting worse just watching Eric freak out. They can't stay here, if they do, I can't promise you that they'll ever get better."

"Then what do you suppose we do?" Julia asked, not liking this idea at all, "We can't just let them out, they're both suicidal."

"They're both going to stay with me," Steven said, "It'll help them. They seem to help each other. Jackie's there for him and he's there for Jackie, maybe if they didn't have this packed schedule all the time and maybe if they weren't constantly being reminded of what's wrong with them, then maybe they'll get better."

Steven never liked hospitals, the doctors were always so condescending. Steven didn't want to come out and say it, but everyone here treated the patients like children. He's seen it. They talk to them like they're five and they treat them as such, too.

He didn't like the schedule's here either. You would think that to treat a person for anxiety, you'd take a different approach then packing their schedules to the brim. Oh, you have anxiety? Let's make you go to therapy twice a day, tell you to do certain activities at certain times, eat at certain times, get up and go to sleep at certain times, oh, and let's also make you socialize when you don't want to, that'll help.

It wasn't all hospitals, but this one just seemed to suck.

"But you have a job, am I right?" Julia asked, and Steven nodded, "You can't leave them at home while you're at work. You can't leave them alone."

"Well, it is my business, I own it," Steven said, "I could let them work there. Jackie's already worked for me before, I'm sure Eric wouldn't mind doing something to keep his mind occupied. That is what you want him to do, am I right?"

Julia sighed and massaged her temples, "I don't know, this seems risky."

"Please, they can't stay here," Steven was begging now, "Jackie's my best friend and Eric is my brother, I'd never let anything happen to either of them. You can ask anybody. Please, I'll make sure they're okay, I'll never let them out of my sight."

Julia thought for a moment, then she said, "You'll have to let me call and check in on them once every week."

Steven nodded hopefully, "Okay."

Julia sighed, "Okay, they can go. But you have to keep your eye on them at all times. Do you understand me?"

Steven nodded, "Yes, ma'am."

"Okay," Julia said, beginning to stand, "Let me just get their files organized and let everyone know and they can leave in about an hour. Okay?"

Steven nodded, "Okay… Thank you."

Julia smiled, "You're welcome."

0-0-0-0-0

He couldn't believe it. He was actually leaving. He almost couldn't contain his excitement.

"Goodbye, guys," Gordon said, smiling as he stood before them, "I'm kind of going to miss you. You made staying here tolerable."

"Call me, okay?" Josie told Jackie as she smiled at the older girl.

Jackie nodded, "I will. I promise."

Then the two girls hugged.

"You'll be alright, Eric?" Gordon asked, looking up at his roommate of the past four months.

Eric nodded and offered a small smile, "I'll try."

"That's good enough for me," Gordon said with a smile, holding out his hand for Eric to shake.

Eric smiled and shook his friend's hand as Jackie and Josie pulled apart. Josie smiled up at Eric, "Goodbye Eric, I hope all of this starts to clear up soon."

Eric adjusted his shoulders, "Yeah, me too."

Josie held out her arms for a hug, not quite sure if he'd want one. But Eric surprised her and let her hug him. Well, this was progress.

"I'll call you, okay?" Jackie told Gordon as Josie and Eric hugged it out.

"You better," Gordon said, "I hope you start feeling better soon."

Jackie nodded and smiled a little, "I will. Don't worry about me."

Gordon shrugged, "It's too late for that."

Jackie smiled a moment longer and then she wrapped her arms around Gordon's neck and rested her head on his shoulder, "You're a good friend, Gordon."

"So are you," Gordon said into her shoulder, his arms wrapped around her waist.

"They said we can leave now," Steven suddenly said, walking back over to the small group of friends.

Jackie and Gordon pulled away, as did Josie and Eric, and they all turned to Steven.

"You ready?" Steven asked his two friends, who both nodded, "Alright, come on then. Let's go."

"I'll see you guys in a couple of weeks," Gordon said, referring to the trial.

Eric nodded, "Yeah, okay."

Eric and Jackie followed Steven to the locked door, both of them waving to their two friends. They turned back to the door when there was a buzz and then it opened. Eric sighed nervously. He hasn't been outside of this place in months. He was kind of excited to get back to Point Place.

Steven led the two out of the door and they started down the hall. Eric felt free now, he was outside of that horrible place. He'd feel even better when he was out of the hospital completely.

Eric followed behind Jackie and Hyde, his hands gripping the straps of his backpack that Steven had brought for him to put his things in. He was sort of nervous for some reason. He's known nothing but the schedule inside this hospital for nearly five months, it'd be weird being able to do whatever he wanted whenever he wanted. He could actually eat for than three times a day. These people here apparently have never heard of snacks.

Eric was stuck inside his head for a while, because the next thing he knew, they were outside and Steven was leading them to the car. Eric looked around as he walked, feeling a bit more free now that he'd actually left the hospital.

It was a nice day. There was a slight breeze, making it comfortable out. Eric gripped the straps of his backpack tightly, his heart started to race. Why was he so nervous?

"Eric," Steven suddenly spoke and jolted Eric out of his thoughts.

"Hm?" Eric hummed, looking over at his friend.

"You coming?" Steven asked, pointing to the car. He had the passenger side door opened for him.

"Oh, yeah… Sorry, I just got a little distracted," Eric said, rushing to get into the car.

Steven didn't say anything. He knew Eric was happier just being out of that place.

Steven closed the door once Eric was inside, Jackie was already in the backseat, more than eager to go home. Steven went around and got into the driver's seat, putting the key in the ignition and starting it up. He turned to look at his friends, a sort of anxious look on his face, "You guys ready?"

Eric nodded as did Jackie before she said, "More than ever."

Steven smiled a little and turned back to the wheel, looking up through his rearview mirror before he started to pull out of the parking space and head out of the parking lot of this horrible hospital.

0-0-0-0-0

"Here it is," Steven said as he opened the door to his apartment, "Home sweet home."

Eric and Jackie stepped inside before Steven and looked around. Jackie smiled, just happy to be home. She didn't realize how much she missed it until she stepped foot through the door. Eric looked around, taking it all in. He hasn't been here for a while, he hasn't been here since before Jackie moved in.

"Jackie, your room is still the same," Steven informed her, closing the door behind him, "Forman, you can use my room, I'll take the couch."

Eric looked over at his old friend curiously and then shook his head, "No, you don't have to do that. I can sleep on the couch."

"Don't even try arguing with me. I'm not going to change my mind," Steven said, dropping Eric and Jackie's bags by the door.

Eric sighed and nodded curtly, "Thank you."

"No problem," Steven said, looking between the two, "I'll go put your bags in your rooms… I'll be right back."

Steven picked up the bags that he had just dropped and went down the short hallway to one of the two bedrooms. Jackie turned to look at Eric, who was looking around the apartment curiously.

"How're you feeling?" Jackie asked him curiously.

He looked over at her and shrugged, but there was a very faint smile on his face, "A little better now that I'm out of that hospital."

Jackie nodded in agreement, "Me too. I'm glad to be home."

They were quiet for a moment, neither of them knowing what to say. Eric took his backpack off finally, but he held it in his hand as he continued looking around the surprisingly tidy apartment. Jackie noticed he was still wearing the headband in his hair, she's rarely seen him without it. His father's jacket was in his backpack.

Eric sighed and looked down at his feet, making Jackie peer over at him curiously, "I have to meet my lawyer on Friday."

Jackie frowned and looked down now, too. She was trying to be supportive, but it was hard to be with something like this. She doesn't really know how Eric feels, she just knows this is a tough time for him.

"Do you want me to come with you?" Jackie asked curiously.

"Well… Hyde's taking me, so you kind of don't have a choice," Eric said, his hazel eyes still focused on his shoes.

Well, he was right.

"When do you think the trial will start?" Jackie asked and she saw Eric shrug.

"Next month, maybe," Eric replied, "I'm not sure… I don't want to talk about this anymore."

He was getting a little worked up now, Jackie could tell. He was starting to get a little tremble in his voice.

"Okay," Jackie said, agreeing, "You hungry?"

Eric looked over at her finally and nodded slightly, "A little."

Jackie smiled and started over to the tiny kitchen, "Well lucky for you, Steven is always stacked up on food."

Eric smiled a little and followed Jackie into the kitchen, his fingers still wrapped tightly around his backpack.

"And the best part is," Jackie started, opening the fridge, "It's not hospital food."

"Is there any soda?" Eric asked hopefully.

Jackie smiled, "There is. Coke?"

Eric nodded, "Yes, please."

Jackie grabbed two cans of soda and handed one to Eric, who opened it quickly and took a sip at the same time as Jackie. They both smiled just tasting the sweet liquid. They weren't allowed to drink soda at the hospital, they weren't allowed to have caffeine. It was mostly just water they drank.

"That's good," Jackie said, wiping her mouth with her sleeve.

"You're telling me," Eric said. He hasn't had soda in five months, the taste was almost overwhelming.

"You think Steven will take us to McDonald's?" Jackie asked hopefully.

Eric raised an eyebrow and said, "What?"

"Remember a few days ago when you told me you had a craving for a burger and fries?" Jackie asked him and he nodded, "Maybe Steven will take us out to eat?"

Eric shrugged, "Maybe."

Just then Steven walked into the kitchen, looking between the two, "I see you guys have already found the drinks."

"Steven, can I ask you a favor?" Jackie asked as she stepped over to him slightly.

"Sure. What is it?" Steven asked, looking down at the girl.

"Can you take us to McDonald's?"

0-0-0-0-0

"Gordon McAvoy is testifying in court as well, but I'm afraid because there is a lack of evidence, there will not be a sentence against Mrs. Oliver," Eric's lawyer, Timothy Black said, "She may get a small sentence on the sexual harassment and wrongful death of Riz Akkad."

"How long would that lock her up for?" Steven asked as he sat next to Eric, who had yet to say a word.

"Six years, maybe seven," Mr. Black said solemnly.

Eric frowned and looked down at his feet. Seven years? And that's without the trial. What if they negotiated something?

"In order for her to be locked up for longer, Eric is going to have to testify against her in front of a courtroom," Mr. Black said.

"Oh God…" Eric said, rubbing a hand across his face, trying to hide from everybody.

"And she'll be there?" Steven asked.

"Yes," Mr. Black said with a curt nod.

Jackie sighed and looked down at her hands in her lap, noticing how tense Eric has become. He didn't know what to do. He knew he if he wanted Oliver to go to prison for at least twenty years, then he'd have to testify. But in front of everybody? His family, his friends, strangers? There would be reporters there. He doesn't know if he could do this.

"Can we have a minute?" Steven suddenly asked the lawyer.

Mr. Black looked between him and Eric and then he nodded, "Yes, of course."

Then he stood and promptly left the room. After the door was shut, Steven turned to Eric, the look in his eyes comforting.

"Forman… What're you going to do?" Steven asked, wanting to hear what he had to say first.

Eric just shrugged, keeping his eyes off either of his friends, "I don't know…"

"You have to testify," Jackie said, but her voice was soft, "If you want her to go to prison for more than seven years you have to testify."

"I know…" Eric said, adjusting his shoulders, "I don't know if I can."

"I know this is a hard decision, and no one can make it for you, but I think you know what you have to do," Steven said.

Eric nodded, "I know, I'm just… Nervous. What's everybody going to think?"

"That's what you're worried about?" Steven asked, trying to get a look at his face, but Eric was still refusing, "Eric… Nobody is going to see you differently. I mean… You know me. If and when you testify, and I hear what that woman did to you, the only thing in my mind is going to be me trying to restrain myself from tackling that bitch right out of her chair."

"I know…" Eric said, "It's still hard though. I can't tell an entire crowd of people what she did to me. It's… It's… Shameful!"

"Shameful? How is it shameful?" Steven asked curiously.

"Because…" Eric sighed, trying to find the words to use, "What if they all think it's my fault? I mean… I could have told her no. I could have told somebody. I could have done something to make her stop."

"Eric, shut up," Steven suddenly snapped, grabbing ahold of Eric's shoulder. Eric flinched and yelped a little bit, but Steven didn't really care right now. At least now he was looking at him, albeit fearfully, but he was looking at him, "It is not your fault. Do you understand me?"

The sharp anger in Steven's voice could cut glass.

Eric was silent, so Steven said, "Did you hear me?"

Eric flinched again at his sharp tone and nodded quickly, scared for some reason.

Steven saw how watery Eric's eyes were and he quickly loosened his grip on his shoulder and softened his tone, "Sorry. I didn't mean to snap at you like that."

"I-It's okay," Eric stumbled over his words, as tense as a board.

Steven looked over at Jackie, silently begging for her help to calm Eric down. Jackie suddenly moved and looked over at Eric, "Hey, Eric. Look at me."

Eric brought his attention over to Jackie, shaking a little bit. He was having some weird episode. It's not happened to him before. It was like a flashback of sorts. His Dad had these sometimes when Eric was little, but those were war flashbacks. This was different.

"Steven didn't mean to yell," Jackie said softly, trying to get him to come back to reality, "He's mad at Oliver, not you. He doesn't want you to think this is your fault, okay?"

Eric nodded, but he still seemed distant.

Jackie shared a nervous look with Steven, and he slowly removed his hand from Eric's shoulder altogether, making Eric look back over at him nervously.

Jackie got up from her chair and stepped over to stand in front of Eric who had now bowed his head, trying to hide from the world. Jackie wanted to help him, she just didn't know how. She knelt down so she could look up at his face, "Eric."

His eyes flicked over to hers, his whole body still tense.

"You're okay," Jackie soothed, keeping her hands to herself, "It's just me and Steven, see?"

Eric looked down at Jackie a moment longer before he directed his gaze back up and over to Steven, who had resumed sitting in his chair about two feet from Eric.

"We're here for you," Jackie said, making Eric look back down at her, "You're going to be okay."

It took Eric a moment to really process what she was saying, then he sighed and closed his eyes. He was flicking his fingers now and he started muttering something under his breath. Jackie furrowed her brow curiously and tried to catch what he was saying. It was the numbers. He was reciting the numbers. Pi. Jackie caught 3.141, but that was all, he was saying them too fast and too quietly it was hard to catch anything else.

Jackie looked over at Steven, who was confused by what was happening. This weird number thing, he's never seen it before. Did Eric always do this when he was upset?

Jackie would have to explain it later.

Eric calmed down after about a minute of reciting the number, then he sighed again and opened his eyes and looked down at Jackie, who offered him a supportive sort of smile.

"You okay?" Jackie asked sweetly.

Eric nodded, still sort of trembling, but he said, "Yes."

"Okay," Jackie said and she slowly reached out her hand, giving him fair warning so he could watch her movements. All she did was grab his hand very gently. He looked down at their hands for a moment before he looked back up into Jackie's hazel eyes, "You'll be okay."

Eric sighed again and finally, slowly let himself relax, "Okay," Eric said, never breaking eye contact, "Thank you."

Jackie smiled and squeezed his hand gently, "Anytime."

Then she let go of his hand and went back to sit in her seat. Steven looked past Eric and over at Jackie in curious surprise. He was amazed at how she got him to calm down, it only took her two minutes and Eric was all back to normal.

"Sorry Forman," Steven said after a moment of silence and Eric looked over at him.

"It's okay," Eric said, "I'm just not used to all of this… You know…"

"Support?" Steven asked, a little surprised. What the hell was that hospital doing for him? It appeared to be nothing.

Eric nodded, "Yeah."

"Well, you better get used to it," Steven said firmly, "I'm not going to leave you alone for all of this. You need people around you who care, and I mean actually care. I'll be there. Always."

"Me too," Jackie smiled sweetly, locking eyes with Eric again.

Eric smiled at the both of them, but there was still nervous tension in his once bright eyes.

"Thanks guys," Eric said to his two friends, "I'm going to do it."

"Do what?" Jackie asked.

"Testify," Eric said, surprising the both of them, "I want her to go to jail. I mean… I'm not going to enjoy telling everyone I know what she did to me, but… In the long run, it'll be better, because then I'll know she's in prison and not out doing this stuff to other people."

Jackie and Steven both smiled at each other and then Steven said, "Alright then… I guess we should tell your lawyer."


	13. Chapter 13

A/N – Thanks for the reviews. I don't really have much to say right now, not much had been going on, so… Here you go!

Disclaimer – Read the first chapter's.

"You look fine, Steven," Jackie assured her ex-boyfriend as he straightened his tie. The only one he owned.

"I don't know," Steven said, adjusting it around his neck, "I look weird."

"That's because you don't get all dressed up that often," Jackie said, "I mean, when's the last time you wore a tie?"

"Prom, I think," Steven said.

"See? That was years ago," Jackie said, smoothing out his jacket, "You look fine."

"Are you sure?" Steven asked, unsure of himself.

"Yes, I'm sure. Trust me, I know fashion," Jackie smiled, "I'm Jackie Burkhart."

"Well, I can't argue with you there," Steven said, before he looked down at her, "How's Forman holding up?"

Jackie frowned now and shrugged slightly, "He's nervous. But he'll be fine. He just wants to get this over with."

Steven nodded, "Me too… You should go check on him."

Jackie nodded, "Yeah… Okay."

Jackie fixed Steven's tie one last time before she turned and left the room and went to find Eric. He was in his room, looking in the mirror, messing with his hair. Jackie stopped in the doorway, leaning against it and peering in at Eric.

"Hey," Jackie said, crossing her arms.

Eric turned and saw Jackie standing in the doorway and he forced a small, nervous smile, "Hey."

Then he turned back to the mirror.

"You know, I'm not quite sure the headband matches that tie," Jackie remarked with a small smile as she stepped into the room.

Eric reached up and adjusted the headband, "Should I not wear it?"

Jackie took a few steps closer, "Wear it if you want to. But I know you wear it to feel closer to home, but… You are home now. Your parents are going to be there. So… If you want to wear it, wear it, I just don't think you need to."

Eric sighed and looked at himself in the mirror. He's worn this thing every day for six months straight. It would be weird not having it. But she was right, he only wore it to feel close to home, and he was home now. Eric sighed again and reached up and grabbed the hair piece, pulling it off his head and holding it in his hand.

"You're right," Eric said, looking over at Jackie, "I don't need this anymore."

Jackie knew how hard this was for him, but she was also a little glad to see Eric moving on a little. He was still broken, but if this was the first step to healing, Jackie was glad to be a witness to it.

Eric set the headband down on the TV stand and looked back into the mirror again, fixing his hair once more before he turned to Jackie, "Do I look okay?"

Jackie smiled and stepped over to stand in front of him. She examined him. He looked nice. He wasn't as concerned over his looks as Steven was right now, of course, Eric didn't mind getting dressed up every now and again. Steven only wore a tie when need be.

There was one thing though.

Jackie reached up and fixed his hair where it was a little crazy. Eric flinched a little at the sudden contact, but relaxed quickly as she messed with his slightly messy hair. She had fixed it all up a moment later.

"There. Perfect," Jackie smiled at her handy work.

Eric looked over to the mirror and smiled a little, "Thanks Jackie."

She smiled as they caught eyes again, "No problem."

Then they were quiet for a moment as the just looked into each other's eyes. She never really noticed how pretty Eric's eyes were until this moment. She also never really paid attention to how handsome he was. She was always too busy teasing him for being skinny and twitchy along with everyone else. She was sort of surprised he trusted her so much, she was kind of bitchy to him when they were kids.

"You guys ready?" Steven's voice suddenly cut through their silence.

Jackie and Eric both flinched and turned to look at Steven.

"Oh, um… Yes, we're ready," Jackie said awkwardly. What just happened?

"Forman?" Steven said, looking curiously at his little brother.

Eric nodded and sighed shakily, "Yes. I'm ready."

0-0-0-0-0

"The people vs. Samantha Oliver in the rape of Eric Forman," The judge said as he looked before the court, "I'm Judge Lewis Roth. The court is now in session."

Eric was sitting in the stand, his hands folded awkwardly in his lap. Everyone he knew was here. His parents, his sister, Kelso and Brooke, Fez, Donna. After they had found what had happened, they wanted to be here for him, even though Eric didn't want them to hear all of this.

"Eric, do you admit fully that Samantha Oliver raped you on May 11, 1982?" His lawyer asked him as he paced back in forth.

Eric was quiet, not wanting to say anything at all, but he knew he needed to. He looked up and saw her sitting with her lawyer at their table, she was watching him with an expressionless look.

Eric then said, "Yes."

"And did this happen more than once?" Mr. Black asked, already knowing the answer.

"Yes," Eric replied, keeping his eyes down at the tabletop.

"How many times did it happen?" Mr. Black asked.

Eric swallowed thickly, but he still said, "Six times… It happened six times."

Kitty was already crying, she had brought tissues with her. Red was trying to comfort her, but it wasn't really working. Jackie was holding Steven's hand, having already heard this confession before, but she still got angry and sad just hearing it again. Kelso and Brooke were shocked, and Fez didn't look like he was feeling all too well. Laurie even looked sad.

"In your own words, can you tell us what happened?" Mr. Black asked, knowing this was going to be the hard part.

"She, uh…" Eric did not want to say any of this. This was the part he was dreading, "I… I met her after the first month I got to the hospital… She was nice, she acted like she cared. She told me she wanted to help. We would talk and that's all it was for about three or four months… She worked slowly, like she was trying to earn my trust… Which she did."

"When did things start going wrong?" Mr. Black asked.

Eric swallowed again nervously, "About a month before it happened… She started touching me…"

"Touching you how?" Mr. Black asked.

"It wasn't weird at first," Eric said, trying to keep his voice steady, "She would just touch my arm, like she was being supportive. But one day, I was having an anxiety attack, and she… She started rubbing my back, like she was trying to be comforting, but it didn't feel that way… And what she was saying wasn't comforting… It made everything worse."

"What did she say to you, Eric?" Mr. Black asked curiously, having never gotten this far in this topic with Eric before. He's been closed off before all of this came about.

"She said she was going to take me somewhere special," Eric said, "She said she wanted to…" Eric released a tense breath before he continued, "She said she wanted to make me feel better. She said she wanted to make me feel good… This is where I started trying to avoid her…"

"And it didn't work," Mr. Black stated more than questioned.

"No… It didn't…" Eric said.

"And then May 11 happened," Mr. Black said, "What happened that day?"

"She…" Eric wanted to go home. He didn't want to be here, "She… She took me to an empty hallway in the back of the boy's quarter… It was abandoned. No one used it. She thought it'd be the perfect place."

"And this is where she raped you?" Mr. Black questioned.

Eric released a shaky sigh, but he nodded, briefly catching eyes with his lawyer, "Yes."

Mr. Black frowned and looked down at his shoes briefly, before he looked up at the judge, "Your honor, if you don't mind. I have some pictures I'd like to present to the court."

"Go right ahead, Mr. Black," Judge Roth said, letting the man go to his table and grab the folder. The judge had given Eric a sympathetic look. He knew this woman was guilty, it was hard not to believe it. She already had two previous convictions, and there was actual evidence on this case. Maybe this trial could end quickly.

Mr. Black returned to the stand and handed the folder to the judge, "I think this is enough evidence to convict Mrs. Oliver, your honor."

Judge Roth opened the folder and looked down at the pictures inside. He immediately frowned and held a look of disgust on his face. Eric resumed looking down at his hands, his eyes cutting up to look at Oliver every once in a while. She wasn't looking at him right now, she was offering a sort of sad look to the judge. She didn't know what they were looking at.

After Judge Roth was finished looking at the photos, he handed them back to Mr. Black who stepped over to Mrs. Oliver and looked down at her, "Mrs. Oliver, is this you in these photos here?"

Mr. Black opened the folder and placed the photos on the table in front of her, some of the people behind her having caught a glimpse of what was on them. They all looked enraged and disgusted, his mother was trying to keep her cries to a minimum.

Oliver looked shocked. Where did these come from?

"I—"

"She doesn't have to speak," Her lawyer said, though he looked disgusted by the photos as well.

"Overruled," Judge Roth said, "Is that you in the photos, Mrs. Oliver?"

She couldn't lie. If she did, she could get more time. So she nodded, a few tears rolling from her eyes, "Yes… That's me."

Her whole 'he raped me' case has gone down the drain at this point.

Judge Roth sighed and shook his head, looking down at Eric's lawyer, "Mr. Black, you can put the photos back now, thank you."

Mr. Black nodded curtly and put the photos back in the folder.

0-0-0-0-0

It was intermission now. They had to step out of the courtroom. The jury was making a decision. Eric was nervous. He hoped it was a good decision.

"Eric," Brooke suddenly spoke, approaching him with Kelso.

Eric looked over at the woman and forced a smile, "Hey Brooke."

Brooke hugged him, and he tensed noticeably, but he didn't make her get off of him, "I'm so sorry this happened to you. I hope they put that bitch away for life."

Eric smiled a little as she pulled away, "Thanks Brooke."

"Hey man, how you holding up?" Kelso asked, looking down at his old friend, his hands stuffed down in his pockets.

Eric shrugged, "As best as I can… I just want this all to be over."

"I'm sure you do," Brooke said, rubbing his arm soothingly, "Hopefully the jury comes to the right decision. I wish you the best."

"Thanks," Eric smiled again, then he saw Jackie coming over to him, "If you'll excuse me."

Brooke nodded, "Of course."

Brooke and Kelso left him alone and went off somewhere else to wait for court to resume. Eric had to get away, he didn't want to talk to Jackie right now. He couldn't even look at her, not after she had seen the pictures.

"Eric," Jackie said. He was too late.

"Oh… Hey Jackie…" Eric said, avoiding her eyes.

"Are you okay?" She asked, "I know all of that was really hard for you."

Eric nodded, "I'm fine…"

Jackie noticed how odd he was acting. I mean, he was usually odd, he was Eric, but this was different.

"Eric? What's wrong?" Jackie asked him curiously, trying to look at his face, but he kept hiding it.

"It's nothing, I'm fine," Eric lied, his fists clenching anxiously. His heart was beating fast, his palms were becoming sweaty, he knew what was coming.

"Eric? You're breathing really heavy. You should sit down," Jackie said, grabbing his hand gently and taking him over to sit on the bench away from the crowd.

Eric bowed his head and tried to even out his breathing, but he was having a hard time.

"I can't breathe…" Eric wheezed, closing his eyes and trying to fight the tears as he began to panic.

Jackie put a hand on his back and rubbed it soothingly, "It's okay. Try to calm down. Look at me."

Eric shook his head, "I can't."

"Why not?" Jackie asked, a little confused now.

"Because…" Eric was trying to catch his breath, "You saw the pictures…"

Jackie frowned now and gripped his hand, "I don't care about the pictures, Eric. I just want to make sure you're okay."

Eric shook his head, "It's so embarrassing…"

Jackie shook her head, "Eric… Please, look at me."

"No…" Eric snapped, though it lost a lot of its bite because of how shaky his voice was.

"Eric, it's not embarrassing," Jackie tried, "Why do you think that?"

"Everybody knows what she did to me," Eric said, rubbing his eyes vigorously, "Everybody's going to look at me different now…"

"I don't," Jackie assured him, "You're still Eric Forman. You're funny, kind, caring, sweet… Nothing she did to you is going change that. Everybody here loves you, Eric. We all just want you to be better."

"I just want it to be over," Eric said, having repeated that sentence many times in the past month.

"I know, I know…" Jackie said, rubbing his back, "We all do."

Eric was still having a hard time catching his breath, and he was starting to get lightheaded. He was trembling and his hands felt numb.

"Look at me… Please," Jackie pleaded, grabbing both of Eric's hands and pulling them gently away from his eyes, "Eric."

Jackie held Eric's hands in hers, and now she felt just how much he was trembling. He finally caught eyes with her and she frowned when she saw the tears.

"Don't cry," Jackie said, letting go of his hands and using her thumbs to wipe his tears.

Eric flinched and looked down into her eyes as her hands slid down to his shoulders. She offered him a sympathetic look and she saw his hands clenching and unclenching awkwardly, he looked like he wanted to say something.

"Eric?" Jackie said and the next thing she knew his arms were wrapped around her, and his face was buried in her shoulder as he tried to stop crying.

Jackie leaned her head against his and wrapped her arms around him, placing her hands on his upper back. She rubbed his back soothingly, trying her best to get him to calm down. She prayed to God that the jury came to the right decision so this could all be over.

Jackie heard footsteps next to her and looked over to see Steven had approached them. She gave him a look that he read easily. He sighed and sat down next to Eric, looking over at him. Seeing Eric like this only made Steven angrier at that woman. He wanted to kick her ass.

Steven extended his hand and gently placed it on Eric's shoulder, making him flinch, but Jackie quickly calmed him down, "It's just Steven."

Eric relaxed in her arms again and resumed crying. Jackie looked over Eric's shoulder at Steven, who was giving her a sad look, but his eyes seemed to hold anger. Eric cried only a minute longer, he had cried too much this week. He was running out of tears.

Eric slowly pulled away from Jackie and wiped his eyes, but Jackie kept her hand on Eric's forearm, as if to comfort him.

"You alright, Forman?" Hyde asked and Eric looked over at him.

Eric nodded, "Yeah… I'm okay."

"Good," Steven said, offering him a smile now, "You're tough. You can get through this."

"Thanks," Eric said, smiling a tad.

"I need you back on your feet, man," Steven smiled, "Kelso and Fez just don't burn the same way you do. All of their jokes are cheap. You're the only one besides me who's clever about his burning."

"Hey," Jackie said, glaring at Hyde playfully.

Hyde just ignored her though, "You're going to be alright."

"I know," Eric said, smiling a little more now, "Thanks Hyde."

"No problem, Eric," Hyde said, wrapping an arm around his brother's shoulders, "Come here."

Hyde pulled Eric into a side hug and then ruffled his hair, which made Eric swat at his hands, "Hey! It took me fifteen minutes to get my hair just right!"

Hyde chuckled and ruffled his hair more, "Good."

Eric chuckled and pushed Hyde away, fixing his hair a moment later and then he punched Hyde on the arm.

Hyde rubbed his arm sorely and smiled a bit painfully at Eric, but he said, "There's the Eric Forman I know."

Hyde then softly punched Eric back, but he didn't hit him too hard. Eric rubbed his arm now, too, smiling away, like nothing ever happened.

Jackie rolled her eyes. Ugh. Men.

0-0-0-0-0

"Please rise for the sentence of Samantha Oliver," Judge Roth said, and everybody in the court stood.

Eric looked back at his parents from where he sat at his table with his lawyer. His mother still clutched a tissue in her hand, her other hand on her chest nervously, Red had his arm wrapped around her shoulders as he watched the judge in anticipation.

Steven looked just as nervous as Red, but he was trying to hide it. Steven was never good at showing emotion, which was why it was so surprising with the way he's been acting around Eric lately.

Kelso and Brooke were looking between the judge and Eric, nervously awaiting the sentence.

Fez looked like he was going to pass out, Fez was always very tender hearted.

Donna had been crying as well. She still held a very special connection with Eric, even though they had broken up. She felt horrible that this whole thing had happened.

Laurie even looked all broken up. She looked like she wanted to sock Oliver.

And Jackie. She was nervous, scared, and impatient. She just wanted to hear what the judge had to say.

"The jury has come to a decision," Judge Roth said, turning to look at Oliver, "Samantha Oliver, adding to your five year sentence for the sexual harassment and wrongful death of Riz Akkad, the jury has decided to sentence you for the rape of Eric Forman to 25 years in prison with no chance of parole and overall making your prison sentence 30 years with no chance of parole."

There was a sort of sigh of relief in the room. Oliver started crying then, as if she expected to only get a few years. She thought at least she'd get a chance of parole. But no.

Eric suddenly broke down crying as well. He hid his face in his arms on the table, and everybody looked over at him curiously. Oliver gazed at him in anger and sadness. Why was he crying? He's not going to jail for thirty years.

"Gentlemen, you may remove her," Judge Roth suddenly said in disgust, adjusting the papers on his desk.

A couple of police officers approached the table where Oliver was standing and they began to handcuff her. She kept her spiteful gaze on Eric as she started to be led out of the room, "Come on, ma'am."

She finally tore her eyes off of the pitiful boy and was led out of the room. Eric continued to cry as the judge suddenly slammed his gavel, "Trial over. Good job everybody."

Everybody immediately stood and began exiting the courtroom, except for all of Eric's closest friends and family.

"Eric, are you okay?" His lawyer, Mr. Black asked, leaning over a little and speaking quietly to him, but Eric didn't answer.

"Eric?" Jackie's voice suddenly spoke and she now stood across the table and looked down at Eric, Steven and Eric's parents also standing there, "Are you okay?"

Eric choked back a sob and nodded into his arms, "I'm fine."

Jackie looked down at him curiously, "Then why are you crying."

Eric then lifted his head and looked up at Jackie, and she saw the smile on his face through the tears, "Because I'm happy. She's going to prison! For thirty years! She can't hurt me anymore… I'm so happy…"

Then he broke down sobbing again, but there seemed to be a laugh mixed in there and there was a smile on his face. Jackie looked up at Steven curiously and he smiled a little bit. He never thought he'd hear Eric tell somebody he was happy ever again. Just seeing him relieved and with a smile on his face was enough for Steven.

Mr. Black was smiling a little as well as he looked up at Eric's friends and family, then he looked back over at Eric who was wiping his eyes. Mr. Black held out his hand, "Congratulations, Mr. Forman. I'm happy for you."

Eric caught eyes with Mr. Black and smiled, shaking his hand, "Thank you, so much, Mr. Black. None of this could have happened without you."

"It was my pleasure, kid," Mr. Black smiled before he released Eric's hand and picked up his briefcase, "I should get going. I have to run everything over with the judge and Mrs. Oliver's lawyer. I hope you get where you're trying to go, Eric. I really do."

"Thanks," Eric smiled as he watched Mr. Black stand.

"I'll be seeing ye'," Mr. Black said, waving a little at everybody.

"Bye," Eric said and then he watched Mr. Black walk over towards the door Oliver was escorted through.

After he was gone, Eric looked back up at his friends, who were still gazing down at him curiously. Jackie and Steven had small smiles on their faces though, happy that Eric was finally relieved of all of this stress.

Thank God Oliver cooperated.

Eric looked over at his parents, who were still frowning. Kitty was trying to keep herself from crying, and Red was avoiding Eric's gaze.

"Eric… Can we, uh… Can we talk to you for a minute?" Red asked nervously, not even looking at his son.

Eric's face suddenly fell and he nodded, "Uh, yeah… Sure."

Eric wiped his eyes and face of tears again and straightened his tie before he stood and walked around the table to his parents. He looked over at Steven and Jackie, "One second, okay?"

They both nodded and Steven said, "Take your time."

Eric stepped over to his parents and they walked away from the group. Steven, Jackie, and the rest of Eric's friends and family slowly left the courtroom, deciding to wait for Eric outside and give him some privacy with his parents.

"What's up?" Eric asked his parents curiously. He hasn't really spoken to his father a lot recently, he was a little mad at him. Red won't even look at him.

"Eric, first of all, I just want to say I'm really glad that this all turned out the way you were hoping," Red said, looking down at his hands, "I'm glad it turned out the way I was hoping. I'm glad she's going to be in prison for that long, I'm glad she can't hurt you anymore."

"Thanks Dad," Eric said, not really sure what else he should have said.

"But also," Red sighed before he went on, "I'm sorry about what I said. I never thought it was your fault. I know it wasn't. I'm sorry I said that. I hope you can forgive me."

Eric shook his head, frowning, his brow furrowed sadly, "Dad, that's not why I'm mad at you."

Red finally looked up at him, confused, "What? It's not?"

Eric shook his head, "No, I'm mad because…" He sighed, "I'm mad because you won't even look at me. Why won't you look at me? Are you disgusted by me or something?"

Red shook his head definitely, "No! No, I'm not disgusted by you, son. It's just that…" Now he sighed, "When I look at you, all I see are those pictures. I don't want to see those pictures. All I ever think about anymore is what she did to you, and… It's really hard to wake up every day and have that on your mind. I'm a father. It's a father's job to protect his family, and… And I failed."

"Dad, you couldn't do anything about it. You didn't know," Eric assured him, "You're a great dad… The pictures, they'll… They'll eventually leave your mind. This, what happened today, it's already helped me. All I ever feared was her coming back to get me, but… Now she can't. Now all I have to do is live my life, however I want. You can do the same… She's gone. She's not coming back."

Red smiled and finally looked Eric in the eye. He saw his son's watery eyes, but there was also a sort of smile on his face, "I know… I'm sorry."

"It's alright," Eric said honestly, "Thanks for coming, dad. It means a lot."

Red smiled, "I had to be here. I had to support you."

"Thanks," Eric said again.

Then Red did something he generally didn't do and he hugged his son. Eric didn't flinch or try and push away this time, he just let it happen. A hug from his father was something that didn't happen often, so he had to cherish every moment he had of it. Soon enough, his mother joined in on the family hug. Eric smiled and wrapped his arms around both his parents.

He felt happy right now. He knew later everything would catch up to him again and he'd have to deal with his depression and anxiety again, but right now he cherished this joy with his family.


	14. Chapter 14

A/N – Alright, another longer chapter. These updates may not come as frequently anymore though, because tomorrow is my first day of work. I've never had a job before, so I've never had to balance too much in my life. I do have weekends off though, and I'll try to write a little in the evenings when I come home. I generally right better in the evenings anyway, so maybe I'll still get these chapter's out every other day.

Also, to Marla's Lost – You did review before, but for some reason it logged you as a guest. I guess there was a glitch or something, but it's fine. Thanks for both reviews. :)

Disclaimer – Read the first chapter's.

Eric had resorted to his grumpy state. He was happy for a few days after the trial ended, but now he realized that she's actually going to be in prison for a long time. He didn't have to worry about her anymore, he had to deal with his depression and anxiety now. It kind of hit him full force. He had bad dreams all the time about her, and he woke up knowing she couldn't get to him, but they still scared him. He didn't tell anybody about them though, everybody was already worrying over him enough.

Jackie was starting to get really depressed again, too. She was starting to get out of her slump. She has a decent job now and lives in a good place, but it all came crashing back after she remembered that her mother was an issue, as was her father.

It really came back to her when her mother called her one day.

"Hello?" Jackie said, answering the phone, still chewing on a piece of her peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

"Jackie, hi. How are you?" Her mother's voice asked softly.

Jackie tensed at the sound of her voice and her face fell, "Mom…"

"Are you okay?" Her mother asked in concern.

Jackie nodded, "Um, yeah… I'm fine… What's up? Why are you calling?"

"I just wanted to check in on you, that's all," She said, "How're you feeling?"

Jackie nodded, "I'm fine. You?"

"Good… How's Eric?" Pam asked in genuine concern.

It sort of surprised Jackie, "He's doing okay. He's a little down some days, but… He's doing better."

She thinks so anyway.

"Well, that's good," Pam said with a smile.

"Are you alright? You don't usually just call out of the blue like this," Jackie said, an eyebrow raised.

"Yes, I'm fine. I'm just worried about you, is all," Pam said, "Is it really that hard to believe?"

"Well… Yeah, I mean…" Jackie sighed, "Before all of this stuff happened, I rarely ever heard from you excluding the postcard in the mail every six months updating me on where you're visiting."

"Jackie. Are you still upset that I'm going to Mexico?" Pam asked, as if it wasn't that big of a deal.

Jackie couldn't believe her, "What?! Yes, mom! Of course I am! You've been to Mexico so many times, I don't understand why you're going again!"

"Because I like it there," Pam defended herself poorly.

"What about me?!" Jackie cried, "I'm here! At home! Don't you see?! You should stay here!"

"But you're home now," Pam said, "I don't need to worry anymore."

"Have you always been this stupid or did you catch some weird disease when you were in Spain?!" Jackie cried then she hung up the phone quickly, slamming it down. She wiped her eyes of tears and leaned back against the counter.

What the hell was wrong with her mother? Jackie really believed that she couldn't give two shits about her. What was so wrong with her that her mother didn't want to even make sure she was really okay?

"Jackie?" Eric's voice suddenly said as he peered into the kitchen.

Jackie looked over towards him and straightened her posture, wiping her eyes again. She didn't want to be seen like this in front of him. She wanted to be strong for him, "Oh… Hi Eric. What's up?"

"Are you okay?" Eric asked curiously, slowly creeping into the kitchen.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Jackie said, sniffling, "It's just my mother again. You know how she is."

Eric frowned and folded his hands behind his back awkwardly as he looked down at his shoeless feet, "So she's getting ready to leave, huh?"

Jackie nodded, starting to lose her composure, "Yeah… I think so…"

Eric sighed and kicked his foot, "Sorry she's like that."

He didn't know what to say. He wasn't as good at comforting her like she was at comforting him.

Jackie shook her head, "I just wish she could wake up and see what was really going on… She thinks I'm miraculously cured of my depression because I'm out of the hospital. I told her I didn't leave because I was better, I left because it wasn't helping. She's so…"

"Idiotic?" Eric asked and Jackie looked over at him, a sort of glare in her hazel eyes. Eric quickly averted her gaze and looked down at his feet again in shame, "Sorry."

Then he heard Jackie chuckle and he looked back up at her curiously. She laughed for a minute and then she started crying. Eric just stood there awkwardly for a minute, holding his hands at his sides and clenching and unclenching his fists. He slowly walked over to her, trying to offer comfort.

He reached out and patted her on the arm, not really sure what to do. Jackie looked up at him, her pretty eyes full of tears.

Eric swallowed nervously, but he asked, "Do you want a hug?"

Jackie's bottom lip trembled and she nodded. Eric held open his arms for her and she immediately dove into his chest. She wrapped her arms around his middle and rested her head on his chest as she cried, but she didn't let her tears get out of control. Eric wrapped his arms firmly around her, trying his best to comfort her, and it seemed to be working.

"You don't need her," Eric said, rubbing her back, "She doesn't deserve you anyway."

Jackie cried harder at that and Eric frowned, trying to look down at her face, but she had it hidden in his t-shirt.

"You go us, right?" Eric tried, "You got me and Hyde. And my parents love you to death. Every time I talk to them on the phone they're always asking about you and how you're doing."

"Really?" Jackie asked hopefully.

Eric nodded, "Of course. My mom misses talking to you on the phone. She wants you to call her sometime."

Jackie smiled a little at that and finally looked up at Eric, "I'll have to do that."

Eric smiled down at her for a moment before she rested her head on his chest again, but she didn't cry this time, she just hugged him. Eric wasn't complaining, this was nice. They both needed this.

0-0-0-0-0

"I can't believe you're four months along already," Kitty said to her daughter as they sat in the kitchen. Laurie was sitting at the table, looking at her ultrasound picture that she had done yesterday. Kitty was baking some cookies and Eric, Steven and Jackie had come to visit.

Jackie was helping Kitty bake, it seemed to calm her down and make her happy. It made Kitty happy, too. She misses the girls helping her in the kitchen. They used to do it all the time as teenagers. Steven was sitting at the table with Laurie and Eric, looking at Laurie's ultrasound as well. And Eric was simply ignoring everyone today. He had brought his Walkman with him and was listening to music on his headphones.

He was grumpy today, he was in one of his moods.

"So it's going to be a girl, huh?" Jackie asked the girl she rarely ever got along with.

"Yeah, thank god," Laurie said as if it were a giant relief, "I couldn't stand a boy. It runs in the family that all the boys come out all skinny and annoying. Right Eric?"

Eric didn't hear her though, he just saw her look at him. His arms were crossed over his chest as he just looked at his older sister with an annoyed look. Laurie rolled her eyes. It was no fun making fun of Eric these days, he never had any witty comebacks anymore. Laurie kind of missed it.

"Do you have any names picked out?" Steven asked.

Laurie looked back down at the picture and shook her head, "No, not yet… I wouldn't mind some suggestions though."

"You know, I always liked Mary for a girl," Kitty smiled at her daughter, "It's just so pretty."

"Mary's cool," Steven said.

"Yeah, I like that one," Jackie said.

"It's on the list then," Laurie said.

Jackie looked over at Eric sitting at the table. He was tapping his foot to the beat of the music, his arms were still crossed, and his attention was now directed out the window.

"What're you listening to, Eric?" Kitty asked, but he didn't hear her.

Steven looked over to Eric and waved a hand in front of his face to get his attention. Eric caught eyes with his brother and pulled one of the earpieces off his ear, "What?"

"Your mom wants to know what you're listening to," Steven said.

Eric looked over at his mother and softened his annoyed look for her, "The Violent Femmes. They're a new band."

"The Violent Femmes?" Kitty questioned, her brow furrowed, "What an odd name."

"What kind of music do they play?" Jackie asked, having never heard of them before.

Eric shrugged, "It's like rock and folk mixed together with hints of some other genres."

"They sound interesting," Jackie said.

"It's certainly different," Eric said, putting his headphones back on and reverting his gaze back to the window.

Jackie and Kitty both frowned as he resumed ignoring everybody. Eric had good days and he had bad days, this just happened to be one of his bad days. His therapist that he saw twice a week said that these mood swings were common in depressives and they'd he'd have a hard time breaking out of them. He's taking some medication for it, but it doesn't seem to be working. Steven was going to talk to Eric's therapist about it on Tuesday when he went back.

"Alright, the first batch is done!" Kitty exclaimed as she pulled some chocolate chip cookies out of the over and placed them on top of the stove before she grabbed the other pan and put the uncooked cookie dough in the oven, "Who wants some?"

"You know I do, Mrs. Forman," Steven smiled as Kitty put the fresh cookies on a platter and brought them over to the table.

She set them in the center Steven and Laurie both went for one. Eric saw her set it down, but he just went right back to looking out the window. Kitty and Jackie shared a curious gaze and Jackie saw the worry in Kitty's eyes.

"I got this, Mrs. Forman," She assured, going over to sit down next to Eric at the table. She watched him for a moment before she reached out and touched his shoulder. He turned to look at her quickly, his gaze annoyed and he looked very tired. He had dark circles under his eyes. He didn't freak out though when she touched him. He was getting better at that, he knew no one was out to get him anymore. He was slowly coming back around, "You're mom made cookies. You want one?"

Eric gazed at her curiously for a moment before he took the earpiece off his ear again and said, "What?"

His tone was sharp. It nearly made Jackie flinch.

"Do you want a cookie?" Jackie asked.

Eric looked down at the plate on the table, but only briefly, because he looked back at Jackie a moment and later and shook his head, "I'm not hungry."

"Eric, you're starting to worry your mother," Jackie whispered, trying to get it through his head, "You haven't eaten today. Just eat one. Please? For me?"

Eric looked at her for a moment, his sharp gaze never faltering, then he sighed and reached for a cookie, "Fine."

He put his headphones back on and took a bite of the fresh, soft cookie and resumed looking out the window, tapping his foot again to the beat of the music.

Jackie sighed. Well, at least she got him to eat.

0-0-0-0-0

Steven went to bed early that night. He was complaining of a headache so he just went to bed. Hopefully he wasn't coming down with anything. Eric went to his room at about the same time, but he was just listening to music. He's been addicted to that Walkman the last couple of weeks. It must keep him calm. Jackie stayed up a little bit, watching TV, but she turned in before the news came on at 11:30.

She was awoken at about two in the morning when she heard somebody stumble in the hall. She cracked open a bleary eye and looked over to her slightly ajar door and saw a dim light from the hall. She raised an eyebrow. Steven never woke up in the middle of the night, he was a heavy sleeper and slept through everything. It must be Eric, even though he rarely woke up in the middle of the night either. Jackie was curious, so she decided she should go check on him.

She kicked the blankets off of her feet and clambered out of bed, grabbing her robe and putting it on before she opened her creaky door and traveled down the hall. The light was coming from the kitchen, so she wandered in there and saw Eric in the fridge, his headphones still on.

"Eric?" Jackie said quietly, her brow furrowed curiously.

He didn't hear her, he just took a drink of his soda and put in back in the fridge. He didn't see Jackie until he closed the fridge door and turned back around. He jumped when he saw her, not expecting to see her there.

He put a hand to his heart and took one piece off of his ear, "Jackie! You scared me!'

"What are you doing up so late?" Jackie asked curiously, her arms crossed over her chest firmly.

"I was just getting a drink," Eric said.

"You still have your Walkman on," Jackie said, gesturing to the device.

Eric looked down at it briefly, "I can't sleep."

"Insomnia?" Jackie asked.

Eric shrugged, "Something like that."

"Are you okay?" Jackie asked, "You're acting more twitchy than usual."

Eric shook his head and averted her watchful gaze, "I'm fine, just tired."

"Have you tried putting your Walkman down and actually trying to sleep?" Jackie suggested sarcastically.

Eric sighed, but he didn't respond to what she just said.

"Eric, what's wrong?" Jackie asked, taking a few cautious steps towards him.

"Nothing, it's just…" Eric sighed again and looked back up into Jackie's eyes, "I can't sleep… I've been having nightmares."

"Nightmares? About her?" Jackie asked, figuring that out quickly. Eric's silence answered her question, "You know she can't hurt you anymore."

Eric nodded, "She can in my dreams."

Jackie's heart sunk a little at that. She stepped over to stand in front of him and looked up at him, trying to catch his eyes. When he refused to look at her, she looked down at the Walkman hung from his waistband. She grabbed it gently and pulled it off of him. He looked down at her to see what she was doing and saw her push the stop button. The music halted and then Jackie looked back up at Eric. She gently reached up and grabbed the headphones and gently pulled them off of his head. Now she held both the Walkman and his headphones in her hands and then she placed the both of them on the counter.

"When's the last time you slept?" Jackie asked in concern.

Eric shrugged, "I don't know…"

"Eric," Jackie said firmly.

"It's been two days," Eric said honestly, seeming a little nervous.

"Two days?!" Jackie exclaimed quietly, "Jeez, no wonder you've been so grumpy lately."

"Sorry," Eric said, apologizing for his attitude over the past couple of days.

"It's fine," Jackie assured him, "You need to get some sleep."

"I don't want to close my eyes, Jackie," Eric said, shaking his head, "I can't sleep, I always see her when I do."

"Eric, you can't keep going on like this," Jackie said, "Exhaustion is not good for you."

"But—"

"No," Jackie shushed him, grabbing his hand, "You need to sleep… Come on, come with me."

Jackie started dragging Eric out of the kitchen, hitting the light on the way by, "What are you doing?" Eric asked her in sleepy annoyance.

Jackie pulled Eric down the hall and then pushed open her door and dragged him into her bedroom, "Get in bed."

"What?" Eric asked in confusion.

"Get in bed," Jackie ordered, "Maybe you can relax a little better if somebody is with you… If you start to have a bad dream, I'll wake you up."

"No Jackie, I'm fine. I can take care of myself," Eric tried, but Jackie wasn't that easily swayed.

"Yeah, obviously," Jackie said sarcastically, grabbing his arm and gently pushing him towards the bed, "Get in."

Eric sighed, but obliged. It was pointless to argue with her, she was too stubborn. Eric grumpily went over to the bed and laid down, but he didn't pull up the blankets, he just laid there uncomfortably. He was still is his clothes. Jeans weren't the most comfortable things to wear to bed. He wasn't a big sleeping with socks guy either.

Jackie rolled her eyes as she stepped over to the side of the bed, "What's wrong now?"

"I want to go to my room and listen to music," Eric said grumpily, the tone in his voice losing its edge. He was getting too tired to keep this up.

"You need to sleep," Jackie said, looking over him, "Do you need to get into something more comfortable."

"No, I'm fine," Eric snapped, glaring at the ceiling.

Jackie rolled her eyes again, "Just go and get some sweatpants or something."

"I don't sleep in sweatpants," Eric replied, avoiding her gaze.

"Then just take off your jeans and get under the blankets," Jackie ordered, getting tired herself.

Eric's face turned a bright shade of pink, "What?! No!"

"I've seen you in your underwear before," Jackie said, crossing her arms, "Michael was the pantsing king back in high school. You were generally his main target."

Eric was blushing like mad now, "Still. No."

Jackie was actually quiet amused by this, she was failing to hide her smirk, "What's the big deal?"

Eric stayed silent. Jackie frowned now. She was so caught up in teasing him she had forgotten completely the reason why Eric was uncomfortable in front of women like that. She was also a bit sleep deprived, so that could have something to do with it.

"Oh," Was all she said, looking down at her feet, "Well… If you really don't want to be here, then just go."

Eric sat up a little and looked over at her now sadly, "But… I don't really want to be alone."

He looked like a sad, lost puppy dog. At first he just wanted to be left to himself, but now that Jackie had brought it up, he didn't actually want to be all alone.

Jackie smiled a small smile, "Are you sure?"

Eric nodded, "Yes… I'm sure."

Jackie smiled a little bigger and walked around the bed, getting in on her side. She pulled the blankets over the both of them and rested her head on her pillow. She looked over at Eric and said, "I'm right here, okay? Wake me up if you need me."

Eric nodded, "Okay."

"Goodnight," Jackie said quietly.

"Goodnight," Eric returned.

Then they both tried to get some rest.

0-0-0-0-0

Jackie was awoken again about two hours later, which she expected. Eric was mumbling, well, talking in his sleep and he sounded frantic. His words all meshed together though, so it was kind of hard to understand what he was saying. He sounded out of breath, and he was moving about a lot, that's what woke Jackie up when he kicked her in the back.

"Ow!" Jackie cried out quietly when she was met the swift kick in the lower back, and she brought her hand around to rub at the sore spot as she looked over at Eric. He was facing away from her, his fists were balled up next to his face, "Eric…"

Jackie sat up slightly and peered over at his face. He looked terrified. Jackie softened her gaze and sighed, trying to think up a way to wake him up without scaring him further. She very slowly reached out her hand, going to touch him on the arm. She tapped his bicep very tenderly, hoping not to frighten him, but he didn't wake up.

"Eric, wake up," Jackie said quietly, shaking his arm gently, "You're having a bad dream."

"Leave me alone…" Eric said, and Jackie knew he wasn't talking to her.

"Eric," Jackie said again, shaking him a little harder now, "It's just a dream. Wake up."

"Please…" Eric whimpered, punching slightly at the air, "Go away… I don't want to do this anymore…"

Jackie shook him again, but her attempts continued to fail, until she gripped his arm and pulled him over onto his back. That's when he awoke with a jolt and his crazed eyes looked up at her. He seemed afraid and the next thing Jackie knew he had a tight grip on her hand. He hadn't grabbed it for comfort, he grabbed it to hurt her. He squeezed down on it hard and it made Jackie cry out.

"Ah!" Jackie cried, quickly trying to pull her hand out of Eric's, but he didn't let go. She tugged on it, trying to free herself, "Eric, it's just me! It's Jackie!"

Eric realized this a moment later and his features softened and he immediately realized what he was doing, so he let her go. She pulled her hand away from him and cradled it in her other hand as she sat back and inspected it, making sure she wasn't injured badly. It'd definitely be bruised. She could see the marks where his fingers were.

"I'm sorry," Eric said, sitting up now and seeing if she was okay, "I didn't mean to."

"I know, Eric. I'm fine," Jackie said, shaking her hand, getting the circulation going again.

Eric was trying to catch his breath and Jackie noticed his face was covered in sweat, his brown hair was sticking to his forehead. His hazel eyes averted Jackie's and he looked down at the sheets between his legs, trying to decipher what just happened in his dream.

"Are you okay?" Jackie asked him now, gazing at him in concern.

Eric looked over at her briefly and nodded, "Yeah… Yeah, I'm fine…"

Jackie sighed and looked him over, "Do you want to talk about it?"

"You were in the courtroom. You know what happened," Eric snapped quietly, but he felt bad immediately when he saw Jackie flinch at his sharp tone, "I'm sorry."

Jackie sighed again and shook her head, "You apologize too much."

Jackie has noticed Eric says he's sorry often, especially when he's done nothing wrong.

"I just want to sleep," Eric said, looking across the room at the wall now, "I'm so tired. But every time I close my eyes, she's there."

Jackie looked down at her hands now, "I know… The dreams will eventually stop."

"Will they?" Eric asked, not believing that as he shook his head, "I mean… I thought that after the court and after she was sent off to prison, she'd no longer be a problem to me, but… She still is."

Jackie hated that woman with everything she had.

Eric rubbed his eyes and released a tense breath, "I'm sorry I woke you up. I'll just go lay in my own bed."

Jackie furrowed her brow curiously and grabbed Eric's hand as soon as he tried getting up and pulled him back into bed, "You're not going anywhere."

"Jackie, I'm fine. I don't want to drag my problems over everyone else," Eric said, giving her a pleading look.

"Eric, I know what it's like to have a bad dream and wake up all alone," Jackie said, "Trust me, it's not fun."

Eric frowned, knowing she was referring to her mother. Eric sometimes forgot that Jackie still had her issues. She was really good at hiding them.

"Please stay. I know you want to," Jackie pleaded, giving him a sort of sad look.

Her pleading eyes and pouting frown made Eric cave. He sighed and nodded, "Okay."

Jackie smiled sweetly as Eric got back underneath the blankets. He still looked a bit scared and sad, and Jackie frowned now, "Are you sure you don't want to talk about it?"

Eric nodded and avoided her eyes, "Yeah, I'm sure. I just…"

He trailed off, not sure how to complete his sentence, but Jackie already knew what he wanted. She smiled again and held open her arms, "Come here."

Jackie wrapped her arms around his neck and he rested his chin on her shoulders, hugging her firmly. She placed her small hands on his back and rested her head against the side of his. She liked hugging Eric, he made her feel safe, and she did the same for him. She felt kind of weird now though, but in a good way, but also in a confusing way. Her heart skipped a beat when she wrapped her arms around him, she got goosebumps when she felt his hot breath on her neck. What was this she was feeling? She hasn't felt this since she was with Steven, and that was years ago. This wasn't what she thought it was, was it?

The teenager inside her was denying it, but the adult Jackie was happy with this.

"Come on," Jackie said quietly, patting Eric's back, "Let's go back to sleep."

Eric and Jackie pulled away from each other slowly, then they laid down. Jackie let her head hit the pillow again and she immediately felt like she could just fall asleep right then and there. Eric went to lay down over on his side of the bed again, but he seemed a little lost, like something was missing.

"Come here," Jackie said, grabbing Eric's arm and pulling him down next to her.

She wrapped her arm around her shoulders and his head rested again her shoulder. He seemed a little confused at first, surprised with Jackie's action, but he was quite comfortable, and he felt safer here than on the other side of the bed by himself.

The two of them didn't say anything else. They just laid there together for a few moments, and eventually Eric drifted back off to sleep. Jackie looked down at him after she heard his even breathing and smiled sweetly at him. Well, at least he went back to sleep. She was expecting him to be stubborn and refuse.

Jackie used her other hand to fix Eric's hair and push it out of his face and behind his ear, the movement prompting him to snuggle closer to her, which made Jackie's heart skip a beat again. She instinctively tightened her arm around his shoulders, which made her feel weirder. But again, it was a good kind of weird. She didn't know what to think of it yet, though.

For right now she just ignored it and relaxed back into her bed, finally letting her eyes shut and she drifted off into sleep along with Eric.


	15. Chapter 15

A/N – Oh my God, guys, I am so, so sorry! I started my job and the training is a bit more than I thought it would be. I work at a daycare, so training is a bit difficult there. I was under the understanding that I'd be working part time, but with the training I am currently working full time, and I'm also doing end of year testing right now, which sucks and adds more to the stress, and then at the beginning of the week I got sick. I had the stomach flu and laryngitis, but I'm doing better now. I'm getting used to my job now, I've gotten over the anxiety (I had two anxiety attacks during my first week), I graduated high school officially last Thursday, so things will hopefully be better from now on.

Sorry for such the long wait, hopefully it won't be that way again.

Disclaimer – Read the first chapter's.

Steven woke up that next morning feeling a lot better. Reminder to self: Don't go near Red's alcohol cabinet. He stretched his arms above his head as he sat up and then scratched the back of his head as he looked around the room that had been flooded with sunlight. Well, at least it finally stopped raining.

Steven pushed the blanket back off of his legs and got off of the couch before he started down the hall to check on Eric and Jackie. He went to his old room where Eric was currently staying and opened the creaky door, but he was surprised to see Eric's bed was empty, which caused him to panic a little bit.

He quickly turned and looked to the bathroom, but it was empty. Shit. He rushed down the hall to Jackie's bedroom and quickly pushed open the door, "Jackie, have you seen—"

But he was cut off when he saw the two laying in the bed together. He released a relieved sigh and slumped his shoulders.

Eric was sound asleep, his head was resting on Jackie's shoulder and her arm sort of cradled his head. Steven's outburst woke Jackie though, and she jerked and looked up at Steven sleepily and a little bit in concern, "What's wrong?"

Steven shook his head, "Nothing… I was looking for Eric, but… It seems you've got everything under control."

Jackie looked over at Eric and blushed a little bit at what this looked like, "Nothing happened. He just had a bad dream, and—"

"I know, Jackie," Steven assured her.

"You know about his dreams?" Jackie asked curiously, and Steven nodded.

"Yeah, he just never wanted me to tell anybody about them," Steven shrugged, "Sorry I bothered you. I'll just let you go back to sleep for a little while."

Jackie nodded a little bit, "Okay."

Steven quietly crept out of the room and slowly and silently shut the door. Jackie let her head hit the pillow again and she released a sleepy sigh. The noise of her adjusting under the blankets stirred Eric, and he moved slightly and groaned sleepily.

Jackie looked over at him and his eyes were barely opened, he looked incredibly tired. Jackie smiled a little at him, "Hey."

"Hey…" He groaned sleepily, shifting a little more under her arm, "What time is it?"

Jackie looked over to her alarm clock and then replied with, "Eight."

Eric seemed unhappy with the time. One of the many things he enjoyed about being free of the hospital was not having to wake up early.

"Did you sleep well?" Jackie asked.

Eric shrugged a little, "Better than usual, but still not well."

"Well… At least there was improvement," Jackie said hopefully.

Eric still frowned though, "Yeah, I guess."

Then the two were quiet for a few moments. Eric still had yet to realize where he was. He knew he was in Jackie's bed, but he didn't realize how close the two were. He was still a bit groggy, he'd figure it all out in a minute.

"When's your mom leaving?" Eric asked, closing his eyes again.

Jackie frowned now too and sighed, "Next week."

"You should yell at her again," Eric suggested, "It was pretty funny the last time."

Jackie rolled her eyes, but smiled a little, "Maybe."

Eric smiled now too, but his eyes stayed closed as the two fell back into silence. Jackie had been stroking the side of Eric's face, which had been lulling him back into sleep, and she hadn't even realized she'd been doing it.

Eric was pretty relaxed, he felt like he could just fall back to sleep, which he almost did, then he realized what was going on and what was all around him. He looked over at Jackie a little and tensed under her arm, which she noticed and she quickly halted her movements.

"Oh… Sorry," Jackie said, but her arm stayed where it was.

Eric shook his head, "No… It's okay, I just… Was startled, that's all… We should probably get up, anyway."

Jackie nodded in agreement, "Okay."

So Eric sat up and kicked the blankets back off his legs and stretched his arms over his head. Jackie laid in bed for a moment, watching Eric. He still looked tired, but not as bad as before. He still had the dark circles under his eyes, and they were both still droopy with exhaustion, but he didn't look as pale, so that was good.

"I'm going to go get a shower," Eric suddenly announced, snapping Jackie out of her thoughts.

"Okay," She replied and then watched him leave the room.

She sighed and let her head relax back on the pillow again, her mind immediately leaving the thought of Eric and going to her biggest problem. Her mother who would leave for Mexico in a week's time.

0-0-0-0-0

That week went by faster than she thought. It was all the sudden the next Friday, and Jackie was just dreading it. Steven had driven her to the airport, and Eric had to tag along of course. Jackie wanted to say goodbye to her mother, no matter how much she distained her.

So here they stood, waiting for her mother to show up to get in line to board her flight. Steven looked nervous for Jackie, as did Eric. They both had the same look in their eyes, and Jackie held a very different look. Anger, but also sadness.

"Are you sure you don't want to go home, Jackie?" Eric asked from where he stood behind her, his hands stuffed nervously in his pockets, his headphones on, but only covering one ear.

Jackie shook her head, "I'm fine, Eric. I'll be fine."

"Okay," Eric said quietly, looking down at his feet now.

"I think I see her," Steven suddenly said, looking through the crowd of summer tourists in the airport and he saw Jackie's beautiful mother approaching, but now that he was grown he had lost his silly teenage crush and now just saw her as a clueless bitch.

Jackie swallowed nervously and her shoulders tensed, her hazel eyes widening a little in nervousness. She felt a gentle hand on her shoulder a moment later and she looked over her shoulder to see Eric gazing at her supportively, "You can do this."

Jackie nodded, "Thank you."

He offered a small, tired smile and dropped his hand as they all turned back to look at Jackie's mother approaching, and then they heard her voice, "Jackie?"

Jackie released a sharp breath and looked ahead as her mom slowed to a stop in front of her, "Hey mom."

"What… What are you doing here?" Then she looked at her friends and offered a small sort of smile, "Hello boys… Eric, how're you doing? I heard what happened. I'm really sorry that had to happen to you."

 _Had_ to happen. It didn't have to happen. Eric released a sharp breath and said, "I'm fine, Mrs. Burkhart."

"Well, that's good to hear," She replied with a smile that made Eric want to punch her lights out, "I'm glad you're doing better."

"So, you're really going, huh?" Jackie asked and her mother frowned.

"Yes Jackie, I'm really going," She replied, as if she was getting tired of that question, "Why do you have such a problem with this?"

Jackie shrugged, "Well, I don't know, it probably has something to do with you having abandoned me when I was like five, barely even talking to me or getting to know me throughout my entire life, ignoring that I have issues with that, ignoring that I tried to kill myself, pretending that everything is magically okay now just because I left the hospital. And those are just a few reasons."

"Well, what do you want me to do, Jackie?" She asked her daughter, seeming upset. Oh no, she had no right to be upset.

"Stay? For once in your life, could you just stick around?" Jackie asked pleadingly, her voice becoming weak with emotion.

"And do what?" She asked, shaking her head and slumping her shoulders, "Jackie, you've always had this weird perception of me. You've always expected me to be a good mother, and I'm just not, okay? I'm not a good mother, I never have been and I never will. I'm not responsible enough for all of that."

"Then why'd you even have me?" Jackie asked irritably, her eyes stinging with tears.

"You were an accident, that's why!" Her mother suddenly cried, getting fed up with all this tension between her and her daughter.

Jackie was taken aback and her breath hitched in her throat, the stinging in her eyes more prominent now, "W-what?"

Her mother sighed and ran a hand across her forehead, "Jackie, I got pregnant with you when I was very young. I was very drunk one night and me and your father had been dating off and on… And then you happened. We got married very stupidly and… Obviously, that didn't end well… I'm sorry, but that's the truth."

Jackie couldn't believe it, she didn't even know what to say.

"Jackie?" Pam asked when she saw how worked up her daughter was getting.

Jackie shook her head, "Just go, mom! I know it's what you really want, so just go!"

"Are you—"

"Go! I don't want to see you ever again!" Jackie cried as she weaved past her mother and went towards the exit of the airport.

"Jackie! Wait!" Eric suddenly yelled, running after his friend, ignoring Pam as he passed her by.

Steven could let them be by themselves, so he ran after them, giving Pam a dirty look as he passed her, leaving her at the check in line and letting her board her flight to Mexico.

0-0-0-0-0

"Jackie!" Eric called as he exited the airport, trying to catch his breath after he stopped and spotted Jackie standing a few feet away from the door.

Jackie looked over her shoulder at Eric and saw him hunched over sucking in deep breaths of air. She had her arms crossed over her chest and she was crying, but she was trying her best to refrain from it, "I'm fine, Eric. I just needed some time alone."

"I'm so sorry about… Everything," Eric said, standing up and stepping over to the crying girl, "I wish I could do something to make all of this better…"

"I'm fine, Eric. Just give me a few days and I'll move on," Jackie said with a shrug of her shoulders.

Eric didn't believe that for a second, "No you won't. Jackie, you've obviously been holding onto all of these feelings for quite some time now, maybe since you were a little kid. They'll probably never go away, but you do need to talk about them with somebody. It helps to let people know how you feel, trust me."

Jackie knew he was right, but it was just hard to talk about your feelings for some reason. She knew for a fact he knew how that felt.

"I-I… I don't know what to do!" Jackie cried, throwing her hands up in the air and sighing as she then spun around the face Eric, "I mean… She's so complicated to deal with! Ever since I was in elementary school she's ditched me to go and hang out with the pervs downtown, and then when I was older and could take care of myself she would ditch me to go on long trips outside the damn country! I know, deep down, she'll never change, but there's still that little hope in me that maybe she will. Maybe she'll see the bigger picture and realize she's screwed up in the past and maybe she should stick around for a while, get to know me a little bit…" She sighed, "I don't know, I guess I'm just naïve."

"I know this might not help, but I guess it's worth a shot," Eric started, "Don't let her bring you down. You can't dwell on what could have gone differently, trust me, I've been down that road, you know it yourself. It's miserable to think like that, and no matter how much you wonder what you could have done differently to change it all, none of it's your fault."

Jackie felt like Eric was saying that to her, but also to himself. His voice seemed to weaken a little bit in the middle of his rant and it made Jackie a little happy on the inside to see that he was finally admitting to himself that what happened wasn't his fault.

Jackie smiled a little bit through her watery eyes, "You're really sweet, you know that?"

Eric smiled a little awkwardly and looked down at his feet, "I know…"

Eric was now avoiding her gaze, but she could see that his face had turned a pale shade of pink, and that made her smile a little bit more. She took a step closer to him and let her arms fall down by her sides as she peered up at him anxiously, then she held out her arms a little, "Eric?"

"Yes?" He asked, still avoiding her eyes.

"Can I hug you?" She asked, hoping he'd say it was okay.

Then he nodded, "Of course."

Then he held out his arms for her and she wrapped her smaller arms around him, resting her head on his chest. She had to move the Walkman that was attached to his waistband because it was making this hug a bit uncomfortable. This hug didn't last long though, because they were quickly pulled apart when Steven Hyde came running out of the airport looking nervous and out of breath.

"Eric! Jackie!" He said, dashing over to them and pulling them apart to get a good look at the both of them, "Thank God. Don't ever run off like that again! You had me worried."

"Sorry mom," Eric remarked sarcastically.

"Shut up, Forman," Steven snapped bitterly, but he held genuine concern in his eyes.

"So… Is she gone?" Jackie asked Steven now, stuffing her hands in her pockets, "My mom, I mean."

Steven frowned deeper now and his facial expression softened as he nodded, "Yeah, uh… I think so."

Jackie sighed and looked down at her feet as the three fell silent, Eric and Steven feeling sympathy for Jackie.

"I'm sorry, Jackie," Steven said, putting a gentle, reassuring hand on her shoulder, "I wish there was something I could do."

Jackie shook her head, "No, it's okay. I'll get through it… I just need a little help, that's all."

"Well, anything you need, I'm there," Steven said honestly.

"Yeah, me too," Eric said not even a moment later.

Jackie smiled sweetly up at her boys, but there was still sadness and disappointment in her eyes, "Thanks guys."

"Anything for you," Steven replied, looking between his two friends now, "Come on, let's get out of here. We need to do something to get your mind off of all this craziness for one day."

Jackie nodded in agreement and followed Hyde and Eric towards the parking lot. She cast one final glance at the airport entrance, a small part of her hoping that her mother would come running through those doors begging for forgiveness, but it never happened. Her mother didn't care, and no matter how much Jackie told herself, she herself did care, and it was killing her.

0-0-0-0-0

A few days later, Steven had to go to a meeting with his father to discuss the plans for the future of the record stores, so he dropped Eric and Jackie off at Kitty and Red's house for a while so they could watch over them for a bit while he was out. Kitty and Red were of course happy to oblige.

Eric was in the living room with Red watching a baseball game on the TV and Jackie was in the kitchen with Kitty. At first, they just talked about normal things. Kitty wanted to know how everything was, how Jackie was doing, and of course how Eric and Steven were doing, then after the conversation ran out, Kitty remembered something.

She went to the closet in the hall for a moment and when she came back she brought a box with her, and Jackie smiled and furrowed her brow curiously, "What's that?"

Kitty smiled and placed the box on the table, opening the lid and revealing a ton of pictures, "Memories."

Jackie smiled and set her drink down as she peered inside, but Kitty pulled out the first picture that she hadn't seen in years.

"Look at this," She showed Jackie the photo of a teenage boy, maybe he was fourteen or so.

"He looks familiar," Jackie said of the black and white photo.

"That's Red in eighth grade," Kitty said and Jackie smiled.

"Wow. Really?" She asked, looking at the photo.

It looked like a yearbook photo and Red didn't look too happy. He had lighter colored hair, you could tell, and he had patchy hair on his chin. He also looked like he had a black eye, which means he had recently got into a fight or something. Maybe that was why he looked so unhappy, or perhaps it was the clothing choice his parents had made for him to wear that day.

"Oh, and here's me in high school," Kitty said, pulling out another photo and showing it to the young girl.

Jackie looked down at the other photo of a smiling Kitty and a few of her friends, who Kitty pointed out. Teresa was the girl in the cheerleading uniform, Bobby was the boy who looked like he just rolled out of bed, Carlton was the boy with the shaggy hair, the girl standing next to him was his younger sister Jasmine, and the boy sitting down off to the side was William. She says she hasn't seen or spoken to any of them in years, which she says she regrets deeply.

Then there was a picture of Red and Kitty at their wedding. They both looked stunning. Kitty's dress was beautiful and Red looked dashing as ever. They both wore smiles on their faces and looked as happy as could be.

"Here's a photo we all took when Eric was a baby," Kitty showed to Jackie.

Kitty was holding an eleven month old Eric in her arms and he was just smiling away as Red had his arm around two year old Laurie's shoulders. She was reached up and holding Eric's hand, this was back when they still got along.

They went through some more photos. A picture taken at Christmas in 1961 when Eric was one and Laurie was three. Laurie was wearing a pretty dress and dancing to something on the radio with Red, and Kitty was holding a shaggy haired and sleepy looking Eric in her lap. This must be after all the opening of presents and play time all day.

A photo from the Summer of 1965 shows Laurie and Eric, aged seven and five, at the beach with their cousin and uncle playing in the water. Eric looks like he's having a great time, Kitty said he always loved the water and loved to swim as a child.

In 1970 it snowed heavily and Laurie and Eric were sledding in the backyard with their then dog Yogi. Eric loved that little dog, he was the one who took care of it mostly, and that little dog loved him right back.

Then in 1973, the photo Kitty showed to Jackie she says is the last year she really remembers Laurie and Eric ever getting along, at least to an extent. In the photo they were both smiling. Eric was nearly as tall as Laurie in the photo and he had nearly shoulder length hair and the biggest smile on his face, even Laurie looked happy.

"You guys look so happy in all of these pictures," Jackie remarked happily, smiling at the pictures.

"We used to have some good times," Kitty smiled, then she shrugged, "But after Laurie fell into the wrong crowd in high school she started changing. She started bullying Eric and mouthing off to me, but she never let her father see that side of her. And after Laurie got all rebellious, Eric got a bit of a smart mouth and started mouthing off to his father, and… Well, you know how all that goes… I wish things could go back to how they used to be sometimes, we used to be so close."

"You guys are close now," Jackie said.

"We're getting there," Kitty said, "He's slowly coming around. Eric, I mean. Every time I talk to him he seems a little more open and better… He always talks about you, you know?"

"Really?" Jackie asked, smiling a little and feeling a slight blush creep to her cheeks.

Kitty nodded and smiled, "Yes… You've done so much for this family, Jackie. You've done so much for him. Thank you."

Jackie didn't know all of this, "Mrs. Forman, I've not done anything that impressive to help him."

"Jackie sweetheart, please," Kitty said with a scoff, "You're the only one that can get him to talk, you're the only one that can calm him down. You two seem to have some sort of bond, I'm glad he found somebody who can help him."

Jackie smiled again, "Well… I'm glad he's getting better. I'm glad I could help."

Kitty smiled and folded her hands now, "He likes you, you know?"

Jackie caught eyes with the older woman, "What?"

"Eric," Kitty went on to repeat, "He likes you, and I mean he really likes you."

Jackie shook her head, but she couldn't help the blush making itself known all over her face, "No, he's just my friend, that's all."

Kitty rolled her eyes and said, "That's what they always say."

Then she stood to go and get herself another drink, leaving Jackie at the table blushing like mad.

0-0-0-0-0

Steven was doing his bills later that night when they got home, and all day Jackie's been contemplating what Kitty said in the kitchen. Jackie's had the suspicion that something was going on for a little while, but she thought it was all just her. She's noticed the weird feelings she got when she touched him. She's noticed the weird connection they now hold. She didn't think Eric had the same feelings though and she's only been brushing her own to the side, trying to ignore them. She's had bigger things to worry about, and so did Eric. But now… Eric's had a little bit closure with what happened to him, and Jackie's mother was obviously still going to be a bitch, so… They were both trying to move on now, which has been deemed extremely difficult in many ways.

Jackie hadn't really talked to Eric much today, she's been with Kitty for the majority of it, so she decided she'd go and talk to him for a little bit, see how he's been today. Eric was known to have some pretty drastic mood swings, hopefully today was one of his better days.

She knocked on his bedroom door, and when she received no answer she just opened the door herself. She creaked it open slowly and peered in and saw Eric sitting in the middle of the floor going through his vinyl collection. She smiled and stepped into the bedroom, closing the door behind her.

She didn't want to sneak up on him, knowing how that would startle him, so she tried to make her presence known as calmly as possible, and that was by just moving into his line of sight, which made him flinch, but he quickly relaxed when he saw who it was.

He removed one the ear pieces off his ear and looked up at Jackie, "Oh, hey Jackie. What's up?"

"Not much, just seeing what you're up to," Jackie said, looking down at what he was doing, "Haven't really seen you much today."

"Sorry, my dad and I were pretty invested in that ballgame earlier," Eric said, "But you were with my mom. How was that?"

"We looked at old family photos," Jackie said with a smile.

"Oh yeah?" Eric asked with a smile right back, "Any of me?"

"Of course," Jackie replied.

"I was cute, wasn't I?" Eric asked with that classic Forman charm.

"You were adorable," Jackie said back.

"Why thank you," Eric said with a sweet smile.

Jackie looked down at the vinyl's on Eric's floor and asked, "What are you doing?"

"Sorting my collection," Eric said, "I'm putting all the same bands together so they're easier to find when I'm looking for something to listen to. Want to help?"

Jackie shrugged. She had nothing else better to do, "Sure."

So she sat down on the floor with Eric and started helping him go through his music collection. He had some pretty albums down here. The Beatles, Rush, The Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin of course, and many others.

"You still listening to that one band?" Jackie asked as she grabbed one of the records and looked at the track listing on the back of the cover.

"Which one?" Eric asked.

"I can't remember their name," Jackie said, "It was the violent something."

"Oh, the Violent Femmes?" Eric asked and Jackie nodded.

"Yeah them," She said.

"Yeah, they're pretty cool," Eric said, "I'm listening to them right now, want to hear?"

Jackie looked up and caught eyes with Eric, then she nodded, "Sure."

So Eric smiled a little and took his headphones off his ears and put them over Jackie's himself. She got goosebumps when he pushed her hair back out of her face ever so gently. Jackie, stop feeling this way, you have too much going on right now, this can wait.

Eric sat back and let Jackie listen to the song that was currently playing. It was called Confessions. Jackie nodded her head to the beat a little bit and after a minute or so she said, "I'm not going to lie, Eric, that's kind of depressing."

Eric rolled his eyes and let Jackie hand him his headphones back, "Well, I can relate."

Jackie frowned and looked up at him. The song itself was sort of bluesy, but like Jackie said, it was also very depressing.

 _And I'm so lonely, I just don't think I can take it anymore. And I'm so lonely, I just don't know what to do. And I'm so lonely, feel like I'm gonna crawl away and die._

Those were some lyrics from the song that Jackie just didn't to associate Eric with. Why did he feel lonely?

"You're lonely?" Jackie asked suddenly, not even really thinking about, she didn't even really mean to say it, it just sort of slipped.

Eric caught eyes with her again and he held the eye contact for a minute, then he shrugged, "I don't know, maybe."

"But… You've got us," Jackie reminded him.

Eric then shook his head, "No, it's not like that. I'm not lonely in the sense that I have nobody, I'm lonely in the sense that I have nobody that really understands what I went through."

Jackie slumped her shoulders and avoided his gaze. Well, at least now she knew what kind of day he was having.

That was something she couldn't really help him with, she couldn't truly understand what he went through, she's never experienced anything like he has.

"I don't know how to help you with that," Jackie said sadly, as if she thought she had disappointed him.

He surprised her though when he gave her a sweet smile, "Jackie, it isn't your job to fix everything that's wrong with me."

"But—"

"You've helped me a lot already," Eric cut her off, still offering her that sweet, charming smile, "I wouldn't be where I am today without you, but… Just know that you can't fix everything. I'll be fine, I can help myself, too."

"I know, I just…" Jackie sighed, "I want you to be better."

"I will be, one day," Eric said, showing more optimism than Jackie's seen from him in God knows how long, "Take a day off. Relax. Help yourself."

Help herself? She never really realized how much she's kind of neglected herself and her problems until Eric said that. She knew she was putting herself off from getting help, but she didn't realize it had built up so much. If she let it go much further it would start to overwhelm her.

"You know what?" Eric spoke again, scooting closer to Jackie, "Maybe it's my turn to be the helper."

Jackie smiled, "Oh yeah? You ever done that before?"

"It's worth a shot," Eric shrugged, "Besides, I'm tired of being the broken one. It's my turn to fix something up."

Jackie giggled a little at that, gladly accepting his offer, knowing he was being serious in it. The two then went on to talk about something else, not really in the mood to talk about their problems at the moment, so they talked about music, something they both enjoyed, of course, their tastes were different so a lot of teasing went on, but it was all in good fun.

The two enjoyed their night together.


	16. Chapter 16

A/N – I'm trying guys. It's a bit difficult to find time to write with this new job, but I've finally got a set schedule I think, so I'm not working as much. I was working 9 to 6 everyday, but now I'm on a part time schedule from like 2:30 to 6, so it should all be good now. Hopefully I can get back to writing more, anyway… Here's the new chapter, it's a big one. Well, it's not super long, but something big happens, so I hope you like it. Thanks for the reviews, by the way, they're always a pleasure to read.

Disclaimer – Read the first chapter's.

It's been a week since Jackie's mother left for Mexico. Jackie thought that maybe her breakdown in the airport would have swayed her mother's decision and maybe she would have thought about staying, but she received a phone call over the weekend from her telling her that she had arrived safely. Jackie hung up on her.

Jackie just wanted to run away, she actually contemplated that. Maybe she should. Maybe not run away, but maybe just go somewhere for a little while, by herself. She had to get away sometimes, she was always locked up in this apartment. She knew Steven wanted her here to make sure she didn't do anything stupid, and if she asked he'd let her go out, but he would have to go with her. She felt like a prisoner, this almost reminded of her of staying in the hospital.

It was super early one morning and Jackie just decided on a whim to sneak out. She just wanted to be alone, or at least get out of her and have some peace and quiet. She got dressed, put on some shoes, lazily ran a brush through her hair, and then she left her bedroom.

She had to be quiet, because Steven was on the couch sleeping. She quietly stepped past him towards the door, she was trying so hard to keep the sounds of her shoes hitting the hardwood floor to a minimum. She finally reached the door and she quietly turned the doorknob, slowly pulling it open. The door creaked as it moved, and Jackie winced at the awful sound.

Steven didn't even budge, but Jackie was still holding her breath. She hadn't escaped yet. She stepped out into the hallway and slowly closed the door behind her, and finally she closed it with a quiet click. She released a tense breath and closed her eyes briefly before she stepped away from the door and started to turn towards the hall, then she jerked with fright when she heard a voice say.

"What are you doing?" Jackie jumped back and yelped at the noise, her hazel eyes wide as she stepped away from the door. Then she saw who it was, "Jesus… Eric, what the hell?! You scared the crap out of me!"

"Sorry," Eric said as he stood in the hall awkwardly, "What are you doing?"

"What are you doing?" Jackie asked back, genuinely curious as she gazed at him with a furrowed brow.

"Sneaking out," Eric said honestly, "I'm assuming you're doing the same?"

Jackie was quiet for a minute, then she nodded, "Yeah, I just… Need to get out for a little bit, without Steven following me everywhere."

"Yeah, me too," Eric said, looking down at his watch.

"Do you do this often?" Jackie asked curiously and Eric nodded.

"Yeah, all the time," Eric said, "You going anywhere special?"

Jackie just shrugged, "I don't really have a plan, I was so caught up trying to leave quietly I never even thought of where I would actually go."

"I know a place," Eric said, "It's where I always go. I can take you there if you'd like."

"Where is it?" Jackie asked curiously, still sort of wanting to be alone.

"Follow me," Eric said, gesturing for Jackie to follow behind him.

Jackie was hesitant, mostly because she didn't know where he was taking her, but she followed anyway. She trusted Eric, she knew he wouldn't take her anywhere where she wasn't safe. So off they went.

0-0-0-0-0

"Just through here," Eric said as he led Jackie down some weird path.

He had driven her through the small town of Point Place and they stopped on the side of the road somewhere. It all looked familiar to her, but she for some reason couldn't put her finger on it. They were in the forest it seemed, and Jackie was a bit confused. Where the hell was he taking her.

"Eric, where are we going?" Jackie finally asked as she started to trip on some rocks and sticks lying in her path.

"It's a surprise," Eric said with a sort of teasing smile.

Jackie smiled a little too, but a little nervously. The sun was barely up and she could hardly see where she was going, and she tripped a little. She would've fallen on her face if it weren't for Eric who had caught her.

"You okay?" He asked in concern.

Jackie nodded, "Yes, I'm fine. I just tripped, is all."

"We're almost there, don't worry," Eric said, having grabbed onto Jackie's hand to keep her falling again, which made Jackie's stomach fill with butterflies, "I'm surprised you haven't figured it out yet."

"Why? Have I been here before?" Jackie asked as they continued moving.

Eric nodded, "A few times. It's been a while though, so…"

Jackie looked around at the surrounding area as they went on, and they only went a little further until Jackie could see the bright morning sun peeking through the trees. Eric tightened his grip on Jackie's hand which made her nervous, but in a good way. She swallowed thickly as he pulled her down a slight hill and then they emerged from the trees and Jackie was staring at a beautiful lake. Jackie smiled and looked around at how pretty everything was this early in the morning.

"Oh yeah, now I remember," Jackie said as she looked around, "This is where we came for our little graduation campout."

"And that time we went skinny dipping," Eric reminded her, that was a long time ago it seemed.

Jackie smiled and nodded, "Yeah, it is… You've been coming here every morning?"

Eric shook his head and shrugged, "Not every morning, just some mornings. It's relaxing."

Jackie breathed in the fresh morning air and smiled, "It is."

Jackie approached the lake a little, wanting to touch the water. She stopped at the edge in the sand and knelt down, letting her fingers brush the surface of the water. It was actually quite warm, of course it was the middle of the summer. Jackie then reached over to take off her shoes, throwing them up on the shore a little and letting her toes relax into the sand. Jackie then sat down finally and smiled back at Eric, "Thank you."

"For what?" Eric asked, furrowing his brow as he stepped towards his friend, his hands buried in his pockets.

"For taking me out here," Jackie said, looking back out at the lake, "I needed this."

Eric smiled, "No problem. Glad I could help."

He watched her as she slowly pushed her feet into the water, the warmth of it very relaxing. Eric smiled as he came to the edge of the water as well and he looked down at her. She looked like she was up to something.

"You want to get in it don't you?" Eric asked with a knowing smile.

Jackie smirked a little as well, "Kind of."

Eric shrugged and began taking off his shoes, "Well, if you're going to do it, do it."

Jackie gazed up at him with a curious furrow in her brow and watched him peel off his shoes and toss them back onto the shore with hers, then off his socks went, "What are you doing?"

"What's it look like I'm doing?" Eric asked, taking off his lightweight jacket and throwing it back onto the sand, "I'm going swimming. Care to join me?"

Jackie smiled a little, but shrugged, "I don't know…"

"Come on, it's just water. You'll dry," Eric said, taking a step forward into the water, "It's nice, too."

Jackie smiled a little and watched as Eric took another step forward, going in up to just above his ankles, his jeans getting wet now. He very slowly and surely made his way into the water, and when he was in about waist deep, he turned and looked back at Jackie, "It's still warm even out here."

Jackie just offered him a small smile and inched a little closer to the water, still not sure about joining him. So she just watched him for a minute, watching him look around, as if he were trying to figure out what to do. Then he inhaled a deep breath of air and sunk underneath the water only to emerge a moment later and swim around, Jackie watched him swim over to the old deck that was out there and climb up onto to it and sit down.

He looked over at Jackie and smiled, "It's nice! You should join me!"

Jackie shrugged again and replied with, "I don't know…"

"Come on, Jackie," Eric pleaded, "What's holding you back?"

"Nothing, I just don't want to go swimming," Jackie said with a shrug.

"Yes, you do," Eric said, "You just told me that you wanted to a few minutes ago."

Jackie just shrugged in response and Eric sighed, turning to get a better look at the girl. She still seemed a little sad, she was hiding her sadness behind that smile, Eric could see it.

"Come on, you need to have a little fun," Eric said, "It'll help."

"I don't know," Jackie said again.

"Jackie, please," Eric pleaded, "You've helped me through so much, it's the least I can do to return the favor. Please. Let yourself have a little joy. You deserve that much."

Jackie sighed, but she felt the corners of her mouth twitch a little bit into a smile. She finally stood and took a step or two forward into the warm water. Eric watched with anticipation, hoping she went through with this. Jackie continued on with a few more steps, eventually coming up to just below her knees. She was relaxing a little bit now, but that was before she hit a stone or something and tripped, falling face first into the water. She emerged coughing and gasping for air, and the only thing she could hear was Eric Forman's hysterical laughing.

She glared over at him and saw him holding his stomach, "What are you laughing at?"

"Sorry…" He chuckled, wiping his eye of a tear, "I always thought it was funny to see people fall."

"You're a jackass, Eric," Jackie said and that only made Eric laugh more. She looked so mad standing there, soaked head to toe and glaring at him. He was laughing so hard he didn't even notice Jackie had swam over to where he was at the deck.

He looked down at her and let himself calm down, "Are you alright?"

"Oh, now you're concerned?" Jackie asked with that same glare.

He just smiled and offered his hand, "Here, let me help you."

Jackie just cocked an eyebrow and said, "No, let me help you."

Then she grabbed his hand and with all the strength she could muster, she pulled Eric into the water with her. When he emerged, spitting out water and gasping for air, Jackie smiled.

"There. Now we're even," She said smugly.

"Did you enjoy that?" Eric asked, pushing his hair back out of his eyes.

"Yes, very much, actually," Jackie smiled.

"Yeah?" Eric asked, seeming a little irritated now.

"Yeah," Jackie replied with that same smug look on her face.

"Well fine," Eric said, splashing water at Jackie's face now, "There. How do you like that?"

"Oh, it is on!" Jackie cried, splashing Eric back now.

The two splashed each other for a few minutes, swimming around and enjoying themselves, eventually the both of them had been sent into a fit of giggles. They were both towards the middle of the lake now, wading in the water and taking a break from splashing each other. Jackie looked around the area again at the trees surrounding them. They were so tall and pretty, they had vines up around the trunks that were bright green. She wasn't sure what kind of trees they were, but they were beautiful. There were also so bushes around them with pretty red flowers blooming. This water was so warm and soothing, Jackie almost didn't want to leave, knowing they'd have to be going here pretty soon. Jackie finally looked back at Eric and chuckled when she saw him run his hands through his hair, making it very messy.

"This was fun," Jackie commented with a warm smile, "Thanks again."

Eric smiled back at her, "No problem."

Jackie just floated in the water there for a minute before she said, "We should probably get going. We wouldn't want to worry Steven."

Eric nodded in agreement, "Yeah, you're right. Come on."

So the two swam back up to the shore, both of them feeling a little more relaxed than they were earlier this morning, especially Jackie. The two finally made their way back to the shore and walked back up onto the sand, grabbing their shoes and socks and pulling them onto their feet.

"We should do this again sometime," Jackie said, looking over at Eric.

"Yeah," He nodded in agreement with a sweet smile.

After they had their shoes back on, they both straightened up and turned towards the trees again, starting to make their way back towards the car. Jackie looked down at her feet, watching as she passed by little twigs and leaves.

She tuned everything out for a minute, just letting herself be whisked away by the soothing sound of the wind pushing through the leaves in the trees, making them rustle gently. She could also hear the birds chirping, all of this accompanied by the soothing warmth of the sun made Jackie feel as if she could just fall asleep right then and there, and she'd have no problem with it.

"Hey Jackie," Eric's voice suddenly cut through, startling her so much so that she tripped over her own two feet.

She fell forward and filled the gap between her and Eric when she landed on top of him. They fell back onto the ground, both of them grunting when they met the grass. Jackie looked down at Eric who was gazing back up at her through his pretty hazel eyes. She felt a little funny now, so she pushed herself up on her elbows a little bit.

"S-sorry," Jackie said nervously, her face a little pink with embarrassment. One, for having fallen down. And two, because she was so close to Eric.

"That's the third time you've tripped today," Eric said with a teasing smile, "Are you feeling okay?"

He brought his hand up and felt Jackie's forehead, still teasing her. Jackie rolled her eyes and gave him a look, "I'm fine. I'm just a bit clumsy, that's all."

"Maybe," Eric said, still smiling that same smile up at her.

Jackie rolled her eyes once again before she looked down into Eric's. Her features softened now and she felt like her heart was going to explode it was beating so fast. She hadn't realized before just how close they were, but now she knew. It was close. Jackie's shoulders were tense, but she tried to relax them, at least just a little. Jackie now noticed just how nervous Eric was too, because she felt how twitchy his hands were when she felt them on her waist.

Eric kept averting her eyes nervously, but he always looked back. She was so beautiful, her hazel eyes were bright, brighter than he's seen them in a long time. This really helped her today, at least just a little bit.

Jackie was getting closer, he noticed, should he make a move as well? He leaned in a little, he just noticed how nervous he really was and he didn't really know why. He knew he was blushing hard, he hasn't really felt this way in a long time.

Eric was about to say something, but before he could Jackie's lips were on his. Eric was a bit surprised at how quickly she moved in, and he tried to relax into it, closing his eyes just as she had done. His heart was beating so fast, was hers doing the same? Jackie kissed him gently, both of their faces rosy. Eric's hands were still twitchy where they were on her waist, he felt Jackie's hands grip his shirt where it was covering his shoulders, almost as if she were trying to pull him closer.

Eric still felt nervous though, almost too nervous, almost in a panicking sense. His heart was beating too fast and he felt like he was losing his breath, so he grabbed Jackie's arms and squeezed them tightly, trying to send her a signal. His fingernails dug painfully into the skin on Jackie's biceps, and she quickly pulled away and got off of Eric, sitting down next to him. There were marks on her arms where he had grabbed her, but she knew he hadn't meant to do that.

"Eric, are you okay? What's wrong?" Jackie asked as Eric sat up too.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," Eric said, bowing his head and covering his head with his hands, "I-I don't know what happened, I just… I started to panic, and—"

He sighed and Jackie noticed his voice was shaky, she gave him a sympathetic look and scooted a little closer to him. She brought her hand up and as soon as she touched him, as soon as her fingers brushed his shoulder she knew what was wrong, because he flinched.

Jackie sighed and pulled her hand away, then she said, "You're thinking about her, aren't you?"

Eric rubbed his eyes and then dropped his hands by his sides, "I'm sorry, it's just… I haven't been with anybody else since… Well, you know."

Jackie nodded, "Eric, it's fine. I understand. This isn't easy for you… Maybe that was a little too fast."

Eric shook his head, "It wasn't too fast, I just felt like I was trapped."

"Well… Next time I'll make sure not to fall on top of you," Jackie replied with a smile.

Eric smiled back a little and looked over at her, "That'd be better," He said, then he realized something, "Next time?"

Jackie looked over at him again and suddenly felt nervous herself, "Well, uh… Yeah, I mean… I like you, Eric. You're really nice and funny, and you understand me and what I'm going through, you at least try to. So…"

Eric smiled sweetly at her, "I like you, too Jackie."

Jackie smiled back at him gladly. Thank God she didn't just make a fool of herself.

"Maybe… Maybe we should try again?" Eric asked nervously, forcing himself to look at Jackie.

Jackie looked at him for a moment, as if trying to take in everything he just said, then she replied with, "Maybe we should."

Jackie scooted a little closer to Eric again and leaned in a little bit, making sure he was okay with this. She didn't want to move too fast with him, she knew this was going to be a little hard for him to get into. He leaned in a little as well, so Jackie kept going. She kissed him like she did before, gently. Eric was still being twitchy, so Jackie grabbed one of his hands and squeezed it gently, trying to tell him it was okay.

This kiss only lasted a moment, but it was okay with both Jackie and Eric. They pulled away from each other and looked into each other's eyes. Jackie had to ask, "Better?"

Eric nodded, "Better."

She smiled at him and squeezed his hand again, "Come on, we should probably get going. Hopefully Steven's not up yet, that'd be hell."

Eric nodded in agreement, chuckling a little bit, "Just be ready to get a lecture."

Eric then stood and helped Jackie get to her feet before they started back towards the car again, this time hand in hand.


	17. Chapter 17

A/N – Jesus Christ. I'm so mad at this computer I have. This is the third version of this chapter I've written. My computer decided the first time to crash and delete this chapter, and the second time it just forgot to save it. I finally saved up enough money though for a new laptop, so it should be here in a couple weeks, thank God.

Anyway, thanks for the reviews. You guys are so supportive, thank you so much. You guys are awesome!

Disclaimer – Read the first chapter's.

The only thing they could do was pray. Pray that Steven had slept in late. Eric and Jackie crept quietly down the hall and Eric twisted the doorknob to their apartment, trying to be as quiet as possible. The door was creaky, it always has been, so the pair of them winced at the sound as it slowly swung open, and as soon as it was open their eyes went wide with fear and surprise.

"Eric! Jackie! There you guys are!" Steven Hyde suddenly cried, seeming relieved for a split second, but his look quickly changed to anger, "I was so worried about you guys! Where have you been?!"

"We were just—" But Eric was cut off, as Steven held up his hand and shook his head.

"Get in here!" He ordered the two, and they both slunk into the room almost in a shameful way.

Eric and Jackie went over to the couch and sat down, their heads hanging lowly in shame and a bit of fear. Steven closed the door loudly and then he marched over to stand in front of his two longtime friends, his glare as sharp as daggers.

"Listen Steven, before you say anything—" Jackie started, but Hyde refused to let her speak, cutting her off.

"Don't start throwing excuses at me, Jackie. I was really worried about you two, you know that?!" Steven snapped, sounding like an angry parent.

"We had to get away for a little while," Jackie tried, trying to get him to understand.

"When I didn't see you two in your beds, I had all kinds of crazy thoughts running through my head!" Hyde cried, glaring at the both of them still, "I think you two can imagine the kinds of thoughts I was having."

"We weren't going to do that," Jackie said, keeping her voice steady.

"We just wanted some time away from here and without you over our shoulders," Eric added, trying to help Jackie out a little bit.

"I understand that you guys want some time away from me, but I'm sorry to tell you that you just can't do that right now," Hyde told them, trying to calm down a little bit, "I don't want anything happening to you two."

"Steven, we're fine," Jackie said calmly, which seemed to upset Hyde more.

"But what if you weren't?!" Hyde cried, his glare returning, "What if you two decided to just off yourselves, huh? I couldn't live with that! I couldn't live with knowing I could've helped you!"

"Hyde, we're—"

"Shut up, Forman! Don't even get me started on what you could have done!" Hyde snapped, turning his attention to his brother, "I haven't forgotten about what you used to do before you went off to the hospital!"

"Hyde—" Eric tried again, but was swiftly cut off again.

"I don't want you falling back into that habit again! It nearly killed you the last time!" Hyde snapped, and now Jackie was confused. What happened before he went to the hospital? She knows Eric tried overdosing before he went, that's what he told her. Was he lying?

"Hyde, please—" But again, he was cut off.

"What?! Does she not know?!" Hyde cried, not even noticing Eric's anxiety starting to act up, "You never told her about your little drug addiction?!"

"Shut up, Hyde!" Eric cried, glaring at his brother now and standing, "Why would you tell her that?!"

"She had to know some time, Forman," Hyde snapped, "You can't keep it from her forever!"

"I would've preferred if you had not have told her like this!" Eric snapped right back, "I would've told her eventually!"

"Come on, Forman, you're not mad at me for this are you?" Hyde asked incredulously, "If anyone should be mad here, it's me. You two shouldn't have been—"

But Hyde was cut off abruptly by a swift punch in the jaw. Hyde didn't think the kid could pack a punch like that, but Eric continued to surprise him. Hyde stumbled back, a hand on his sore jaw as he heard Jackie gasp. Hyde didn't stay down long, as he looked up at Eric, a shocked look on his face. The punch obviously hurt Eric's hand, as he was shaking it out. Eric wasn't the fighting type, but he sure knew how to stand his ground when the time came for it.

"Forman…" Hyde said in shock as he stood up straighter.

"You don't have the right to tell me I can't be mad at you!" Eric snapped, his voice shaky, but Hyde couldn't tell if it was with tears or with anger, "You can't just tell somebody something personal about me and then tell me I can't be upset! I have every right to be mad!"

"Eric—" Hyde used his first name, which used to be a rare occurrence.

"I don't want to hear your excuses right now!" Eric said loudly, glaring at Hyde angrily before he quickly left the room, the last sound heard from him being the slamming of his door.

Hyde turned to look at Jackie, giving her a saddened and shocked look, "Jackie…"

"What was all of that?" Jackie asked as she finally stood.

"It was nothing," Hyde tried, but he knew Jackie wasn't that stupid, "He had to tell you eventually. I don't understand why he's so upset."

"Steven, for you to be a smart guy, you really can be an idiot," Jackie snapped now, sort of glaring at him now, "Obviously, Eric is very sensitive about this. You don't just say stuff like that. You hurt him."

That seemed to get through to him. He ran both his hands down in face and groaned in shame, "Ugh! Why did I say that?!"

"Because you speak before you think," Jackie said, her arms crossed over her chest defensively.

"I should go talk to him," Hyde said, looking towards the hall now.

"No, that's not a good idea," Jackie warned him, holding up a hand.

"Why not?" Hyde asked, quirking an eyebrow.

"Because, you've only just pissed him off," Jackie explained, "Unless you want to get punched in the face again?"

Hyde shook his head, "No, you're right… Maybe I'll talk to him later?"

Jackie nodded, "Good idea."

"What about you?" Hyde asked after a moment of silence between the two.

"What about me?" Jackie asked curiously, cocking an eyebrow.

"Why don't you go and talk to him," Hyde said, shrugging, "You've always seemed to have better luck with cheering him up."

"I don't know," Jackie shrugged, seemingly nervous, "You just told me one of his darkest secrets. He's probably a little embarrassed at the moment."

"He needs to vent," Hyde reminded her, "And not in a physical way."

He rubbed his sore jaw at that and winced at the bruising pain. Jackie thought about it and turned to look back towards the hallway. She looked at Eric's closed door and frowned.

"You think he'll want to talk?" Jackie asked, looking back to Hyde again.

"Maybe not right away, but you know Forman," Hyde remarked with a small smile, "Once you get him going there's no stopping him."

"Alright, I'll go talk to him," Jackie said, "But later on, when he's calmed down, you're going to apologize. You got me?"

Hyde nodded, "Yes ma'am."

Jackie sighed then and then said, "And… I'm sorry, too. For scaring you. We shouldn't have snuck out like that."

Hyde nodded, "I know this is hard for the both of you, and it's hard for me too. I know you guys want your space, I want mine too, but I can't just let you guys go unsupervised for long periods of time right now. Eventually, everything will even out. I promise."

Jackie nodded and with a small smile said, "I know. Thanks for being there for us, Steven. It means a lot to both me and Eric."

Hyde smiled back at her, "It's no problem, Jackie. You two are the most important people in my life. I'd never let anything happen to you guys."

"Awe, look at you," Jackie teased, "You are a sweetheart."

"Shut up," Hyde said, but Jackie giggled, "Go talk to Forman."

"Will do," Jackie said, starting down the hallway, smiling at her and Hyde's little tuft.

"And Jackie," Hyde called out to her before she continued down the hall, making her turn to face him.

"Yeah?" She asked.

"Why are you and Eric soaking wet?"

0-0-0-0-0

When Hyde reminded her that she was soaked from head to toe, she suddenly became very cold. So before she went into Eric's room, she changed. The time it took her to change into something new, it gave Eric a little time to cool off before she burst into his room. Maybe now he was so pissed off.

She walked into his room ten minutes later and he was where he always was. Lying on his back in bed, staring up at the ceiling and listening to his Walkman.

Jackie closed the door behind her and approached his bed slowly, "Eric?"

He didn't hear her, but he saw her out the corner of his eye. He still looked pissed off. His green eyes glared up at the ceiling, his skin was pale, and he had dark circles under his eyes. The dark circles were always there, but they became more prominent against his pale skin. His hair stuck to his forehead because he was still soaking wet, his wet clothes clinging to his body, making him shiver, but he himself didn't even seem to notice he was cold, he was far too pissed off for that.

"Are you okay?" Jackie asked him after a moment of silence.

"What?" Eric snapped back not even a moment later, pulling the earpiece off his ear.

"I asked if you were okay," Jackie asked, louder this time.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Eric replied irritably, and Jackie knew he was not okay.

"Steven didn't mean all of that," Jackie said after a moment of silence. Eric just glared at her, but she knew his anger wasn't directed at her.

"He didn't?!" Eric asked, then he sat up in his bed and chuckled almost maniacally, "He didn't mean to spill one of the worst things about me?! Yeah right!"

"Eric, you know he didn't," Jackie frowned, "He was just upset with us, and understandably so. We shouldn't have snuck out like that, it was a mistake."

"That doesn't mean he has to tell you everything that I try to hide!" Eric snapped at Jackie, "I-I can't believe him! Why would he do this to me?!"

"Eric," Jackie tried as she took a step towards him, "I just talked to him. He's really upset about all of this. He regrets saying what he said, and Eric… I don't care about your past. We've all had rough times, but we're moving forward now. There's no need to be upset about what happened before."

"Jackie, do you want to know what I was addicted to?" Eric asked her, her hard gaze still present, and before she could even answer him, he replied to his own question with, "Heroin. I used to shoot up all the time. I thought it would help me forget everything. I thought maybe it'd get rid of my depression. Turns out it only made it worse and then I overdosed… On purpose."

"Eric, please—" But he cut her off.

"My first month at the mental hospital, I was so fucked up," Eric said, "I wanted more. I was so sick. I threw up all the time. I was anxious, I couldn't sleep, I was angry all the time. I used to yell at the nurses and doctors. I called my therapist names. I was so angry and mean to everyone. It's my lowest point. I didn't want you to know about it. But now, here we are."

"Eric, calm down," Jackie said, noticing that his chest began to rise and fall in a heavier rate than normal and his voice was getting higher, which always happened with he was nervous or anxious.

"Does he not trust me?" Eric asked himself more than he was asking her, "I'm not going back to it. Ever. Why would I do that knowing what it did to me? He should know me better than that, that stupid son of a—"

"Eric!" Jackie cried suddenly, grabbing Eric's shoulders, making him flinch and look up at her anxiously.

He was shaking now, with cold and with anxiety. He was too pale and his eyes were wide, his breathing was too heavy. He needed to calm down.

"Breathe," Jackie instructed, "Calm down and breathe. Everything is okay. You're fine. Everything is perfectly fine."

Eric closed his eyes and breathed in and out slowly, his breath shaky. His hands were trembling so much and Jackie grabbed ahold of them and she almost pulled away because his hands were like ice.

"Eric, you need to get out of these clothes," Jackie told him, and he looked up at her curiously.

"What?" He asked, almost in alarm.

"You're freezing," Jackie told him, "Your skin is so cold. I don't want you getting sick. You need to change."

Eric then looked down at himself and remembered he was wearing his wet clothes from when they went swimming a while ago. He then nodded, "You're right."

He stood then and let go of Jackie's hands, his anxiety still ever so present, but he was focused on something else now, so his breathing was getting better. He walked over to his dresser and pulled out some clothes. He kicked his shoes and socks off his feet, then he looked up at Jackie nervously.

"Could you turn around or something?" Eric asked, not even taking off his shirt in front of her.

"Oh yeah, sorry," Jackie said, turning away from him and covering her eyes just to make Eric feel better.

Eric quickly changed into some warmer clothing and threw his wet clothes into a pile of dirty clothes in the corner of his room, and a moment later said, "Okay, you can turn around now."

Jackie let her arms fall down to her sides and she turned back to face Eric. He had put on some new jeans and a long sleeved shirt, his hair was still a mess, he hadn't even bothered to mess with it.

"Do you feel better now?" Jackie asked him in concern, crossing her arms over her chest.

Eric shrugged, "I'm still mad at him. He shouldn't have said all of that."

Jackie nodded, "You're right. He shouldn't have. But he did. Now where do we stand?"

Eric looked down at his feet in shame and then said, "I'm sorry I didn't tell you. I was too ashamed."

"Eric, it's fine," Jackie said, "You don't have to tell me anything you don't want to. Just know that what happened in your past doesn't change the way I feel about you now. Okay?"

Eric nodded, "Okay."

"Are you going to be okay?" Jackie asked, and Eric nodded in return.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Eric said, then he shrugged, "I just need a little time away from him right now."

Jackie nodded, "Alright, I'll just give you some space then. You can sit in here and listen to your music and that will give Steven enough time to think over an apology."

Eric nodded, "Yeah…"

Jackie wanted to give him a hug, but he seemed a little distant right now. You had to be very careful with what you did around Eric at times like these.

"I'll see you later," Was all Jackie said, then she turned and left him alone with his anger and shame.

0-0-0-0-0

It was dark by the time Hyde came to talk to Eric. Eric had been sitting in his room all day, listening to music. He listened to the Violent Femmes a couple times, then some Zeppelin, and then just some other stuff sprinkled in between.

Hyde had knocked on the door, but Eric didn't answer. He either had his headphones on, or he was ignoring him. So Hyde walked in and was relieved to know Eric wasn't ignoring him. He stepped closed to where Eric was sitting on the floor, leaning back against his bed with his eyes closed. He wasn't sleeping though, because he was bobbing his head to the beat of the music.

Hyde gently nudged Eric's leg with his toe and he cleared his throat for good measure, "Ahem."

Eric's eyes snapped open and he looked up at Hyde. Hyde was nervous, which was rare. He smiled down at his little brother, but Eric knew he was faking it. Eric didn't say anything to Hyde, he just took off his headphones and set them down on his bed behind him.

"Forman," Hyde said awkwardly, "We need to talk."

"Okay," Was all he said, adjusting his loose shoulders. It was weird that Eric was the angry one here and Hyde was the nervous one, it was usually the other way around.

"I'm sorry… About earlier," Hyde started, avoiding Eric's gaze, "I shouldn't have said what I said. It was stupid, so… I'm sorry."

"That's it?" Eric asked, a little surprised.

"What do you mean?" Hyde asked with a furrowed brow.

"You spent all afternoon avoiding me and thinking over an apology, and that's all you have to say?" Eric asked, a hint of anger in his voice, "No, 'I'm an idiot, Forman,' or, 'I'm sorry I spilled your biggest secret to the girl that you're in love with.'"

"Forman, I—" Hyde then cut himself short and tried hiding the smile that wanted to force itself to his face, "Wait a minute. What did you just say?"

Eric's eyes suddenly went wide and he shook his head, his whole body tensing now and he was now the nervous one, "Nothing. I didn't say anything."

"Yes, you did," Hyde said, smiling teasingly now, "You're in love with Jackie?"

"Keep your voice down!" Eric snapped, standing now, "She's in the room next door. She could hear you."

"You're in love with Jackie," Hyde repeated, quieter this time, "That's nice."

"Hyde, shut up. This isn't the time to tease me, okay? You really embarrassed me earlier, and you don't even care!" Eric snapped bitterly.

"Embarrassed you?" Hyde asked, as if he was confused.

"Yes, you embarrassed me!" Eric cried, "You told Jackie what I used to do, and now she probably thinks I'm a freak or something, more than I already was before!"

"You're not a freak, Forman," Hyde tried, "Nobody thinks that. Jackie doesn't think that. She cares about you, man. More than you probably think."

"How do you know that?!" Eric cried again, taking a step closer to Hyde in anger, "I'm depressed, I used to wear my mother's headband, I cry myself to sleep when I do sleep, I have some kind of PTSD nightmares, I was raped for God's sake! And, to top it all off, I was a druggie! I'm a freak, admit it!"

"Eric," Hyde pleaded.

"I can't believe you!" Eric snapped, his anger turning into anxiety again, "Every I start to feel a little better, something else happens to make all go to shit again, and this time it was you telling the world about my problems! How could you do that to me?!"

"Eric, come on m—"

"What is wrong with you?!" Eric bellowed, "Things were starting to look good for me, and you fucking ruined it!"

"Eric, calm down! You're over-exaggerating!" Hyde shouted.

"Am I?!" Eric cried, "Is everything I do just a fuck up?! Huh?!"

"ERIC!" Hyde finally yelled loudly, pointing a finger in Eric's face, making him flinch, "Stop saying shit like that. You are not a fuck up. You are fine. You're perfect. Nothing is wrong with you. You're not a fuck up and you're not a freak. Okay?"

"You're an asshole," Eric barked and Hyde sighed in irritation that he couldn't get through to Eric, "I wake up every day carrying around these stupid labels that now define me. These labels that I will now forever have. And you just exposed the one that I was keeping hidden, the one that I thought I could get away with not having to expose. But I guess I was just lying to myself about that one, too."

"Eric, there is nothing wrong with you!" Hyde yelled, seeing the tears in his friend's eyes.

"Yes, there is!" Eric snapped weakly.

"No, there isn't!" Hyde cried, grabbing ahold of his brother's shoulders tightly, and then a few tears rolled down Eric's face, "I'm sorry I said what I said! I didn't mean to let it slip! I can be insensitive at times, I know! I deserve for you to be mad at me, okay! Don't forgive me, I don't deserve it!"

"Why'd you say it?" Eric asked, his voice weakened now by his emotions.

"I don't know, I was just angry," Hyde said, shrugging his shoulders, "I say stupid things when I'm angry."

Eric sniffled and averted Hyde's gaze, "Jackie talked to me about this earlier… She seemed uncomfortable. She usually gives me a hug when I have an anxiety attack, but this time she just distracted me and then she left… I think she's upset with me."

"I don't think she's upset with you, Forman," Hyde said, loosening his grip on Eric's shoulders.

"I do," Eric replied, looking back up at Hyde now, his eyes still filled with tears.

"Well, maybe you should talk to her," Hyde suggested.

"I'm scared to," Eric said quietly.

"Don't be," Hyde said, "She's not upset with you, Forman. I talked to her about all of this, too. She's just worried about you. We all are."

"I know you guys are," Eric said, sniffling again, "I'm sorry I was being a jackass."

"It's fine, I sort of deserved all of that," Hyde said with a small smile, "I'm sorry for yelling at you earlier."

"It's fine, we shouldn't have run off like that," Eric said awkwardly, wiping his face of tears and shrugging out of Hyde's grip, "I'm tired. I think I'm going to try and get some sleep."

"Okay," Hyde said, still sort of smiling at his little brother, "Let me know if you have any bad dreams, okay?"

"Okay," Eric said, nodding with a small, tired smile, "Goodnight, Hyde."

"Goodnight, Eric," Hyde said, turning and leaving the room, closing the door gently behind him.

Eric stared at the door for a moment, running everything that just happened over in his head again. He sighed and wiped his tired eyes again. He wanted to go and talk to Jackie, see everything between them was the same or different. But he didn't move, he just stood in the middle of his room and stared at the door. He closed his tired eyes and tried to keep the tears from returning, hoping these horrible feelings would one day leave him.


	18. Chapter 18

A/N – I don't know how I'm still functioning. I haven't slept in over 24 hours and I'm not even tired, I think I have insomnia and I probably need to lay off the energy drinks. I'm a bit manic right now, so I'm just writing away. I'm sure you guys don't mind.

Disclaimer – Read the first chapter's.

Eric couldn't sleep. He's been up for hours. He occasionally listened to some music on his Walkman, and sometimes he put it down and tried to sleep, but unconsciousness never overtook him. So he laid there in bed, staring up at the ceiling for what felt like the thousandth time tonight. Eric released an annoyed breath and glared up at the ceiling, silently cursing that horrid woman for doing this to him. If it weren't for her he could be sleeping right now. It wasn't just her thought, something else was bothering him.

He needed to talk to Jackie. He was worried that she was mad at him. He knew it was silly, but he still felt that way. He finally decided that arguing with himself would do no good, so he kicked the sheets off his legs and got out of bed. He grabbed his pants off the floor and put them on, grabbing his t-shirt as well before he went out the door. He was quiet so he didn't wake Hyde where he slept on the couch.

Eric knocked on Jackie's door as common curtesy, but he knew she was sleeping. It was two in the morning. So when she didn't answer, he opened the door and stepped into the dark room. He could see her sleeping form in her bed underneath the billowy blankets. He shut the door behind him quietly and stepped over to her bed, feeling very awkward. He stood by her bed for a moment, looking down at her, trying to work up the nerve to wake her up. He released a quiet sigh and scratched the back of his head before he reached down and shook her shoulder.

"Jackie," He said quietly, ignoring the feeling he got in the pit of his stomach when his fingers brushed her skin.

Jackie was a light sleeper, so she woke up at just the faintest touch or sound. She opened her eyes sleepily and looked up to see what was going on and then she saw Eric looking down at her and looking tired as hell.

"Eric?" Jackie said, turning over and propping herself up on her elbows, gazing up at him with curiosity and concern, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," Eric said quickly, "I… I can't sleep."

"Nightmares again?" Jackie asked, her voice showing concern through her sleepiness.

Eric nodded, "Yes."

"You want to talk about it?" Jackie asked, waking up a little bit.

"Actually, I want to talk to you about something else," Eric said.

"What is it?" Jackie asked.

Eric looked down at her bed that looked so comfortable and he gestured towards the fluffy mattress, "Can I…?"

Jackie looked to the empty spot next to her and then she nodded, "Go ahead."

Eric walked around to the other side of the bed and got in. He sat cross legged next to her and she sat up into a sitting position as well, running a hand through her messy hair that she hadn't brushed the day before.

"What's wrong, Eric?" She asked him in worry.

"It's about earlier," Eric said with a frown, avoiding her eyes, "About my little episode earlier."

"Your anxiety attack?" Jackie asked, her brow furrowed, "What about it?"

"Well… This might sound sort of clingy, but just hear me out, okay?" Eric said and Jackie nodded, her hands resting in her lap, "Well, it's just… Usually when I have an anxiety attack, you sort of comfort me, you know? Earlier you acted like you didn't want to talk to me. And… You usually give me a hug, or a pat on the back or something. You just kind of left me alone… Did I make you mad when you found out about my drug problem?"

"What?" Jackie asked, seeming surprised, "No, Eric. I'm not mad at you. I didn't try to comfort you earlier because I was afraid that you were going to lash out again. It's hard to talk to you when you're like that. You sort of shut down and it's hard to do… Anything really."

"So, you're not mad at me?" Eric asked.

Jackie shook her head and offered him a small smile, "No. I'm not mad at you."

"Okay, good," Eric said, "I was worried you didn't want to talk to me anymore."

"What—Eric, are you feeling okay?" Jackie asked, "Why would you think that? That's crazy."

"I'm sorry," Eric said, hanging his head, "I don't know what's wrong with me."

My God, that woman really fucked him up. Jackie thought.

"Eric, stop apologizing for things you can't control," Jackie said, "And stop apologizing so much in general. You tell me you're sorry all the time, and I don't know why."

"I don't either," Eric said quietly, "I'm s—"

"You were about to say it again," Jackie observed.

"Jackie," Eric said, looking up at her, "I'm scared."

"Scared?" Jackie asked curiously, "Why do you feel scared?"

Eric tensed a little when he felt her hands grab his, "I don't know, I just am."

Jackie felt like she knew.

"Eric," Jackie said, "I will always be here for you, okay?"

"I'm sorry," Eric said again, his eyes becoming watery.

"I'm not going to abandon you," Jackie said, "I'm not following in my mother's footsteps. I absolutely refuse. I will never leave you, okay?"

"You can't promise that," Eric said shakily, tears falling down his face, "What if when you get better something comes up, like… Like what if you find a really good job in another town, or state? Or, what if you meet somebody? Then what?"

"I'm not moving away, Eric," Jackie smiled sweetly at him, taking one of her hands and wiping the tears from his cheeks, "I've already met my somebody. You."

"R-really?" Eric asked nervously, swallowing thickly as the tears seemed to keep flowing.

"Yes, you," Jackie giggled, "Don't you remember what happened at the lake earlier?"

Eric blushed a little at the memory, "Yeah… But—"

"But what?" Jackie asked, "I swear to God, Eric Forman, if you say something else stupid tonight, I'll—"

"You'll what?" Eric asked, smiling a little now, the wetness from the tears still on his face.

Jackie didn't know what she going to say actually. She looked at Eric for a moment. He was smiling, but his eyes were tired and glassy. He looked so sad, but he had that happy little smile that put dimples at the corners of his mouth.

Jackie didn't know why she replied to Eric's question this way, it just sort of slipped off her tongue, but said, "I'll kiss you."

Eric's breath hitched in his throat at that and Jackie blushed like mad at she just said, but a smile was brought back to her face when Eric said, "Well, okay then. Two plus two is five. Where's my kiss?"

Jackie giggled at him, "You're a dork."

"Thank you," Eric smiled at her, which was the most beautiful sight Jackie's ever seen.

Then they were quiet and looking into each other's eyes. Jackie gazed into Eric's pretty green eyes, and her shoulders tensed in nervousness as they both fell into a somewhat comfortable silence. Eric squeezed Jackie's hands a little in his as she bowed her head a little and looked down at their entwined hands.

Eric released a nervous breath as his beat a mile a minute. Eric and Jackie caught eyes again, both of them feeling the nervous tension that hung thick in the air around them. Jackie smiled sweetly at Eric and Eric smiled right back, but a bit more nervously than Jackie. Eric squeezed Jackie's hands again and Jackie leaned towards him quickly, letting their lips meet.

Eric was surprised at how quickly she acted, but he soon melted into her touch. Eric suddenly felt like he couldn't get enough of her, and he leaned into her more. He gripped her hands tightly, but not too tight, he didn't want to hurt her. But Jackie pulled her hands out of his and instead pushed her hands to just above his waist, gripping the soft fabric of his shirt in her hands and tugging him closer to her. Eric felt lightheaded, but in a good way. Eric didn't know what to do with his now empty hands, so he just rested them on Jackie's waist like she had done with him.

Jackie's never had a kiss so good, it almost surprised her it was coming from Eric. This was the boy that she was always so confused as to why he was dating Donna. She used to be confused when Donna talked up at Eric like he was the greatest boyfriend in the world. Of course, young Jackie thought Eric was just a skinny little nerd. He still was, but when you're out of that judgmental teenage stage, those things don't really matter anymore. And Donna was right anyway. Eric was a great kisser.

Jackie gripped Eric's shirt tightly in her fists, her heart thumping wildly in her chest. One of her hands slid up to his chest and rested over his heart that was beating just as fast as hers. Eric deepened the kiss, which surprised her. She knew this was going to take some with Eric, knowing what had happened to him, but he was pushing this further than she was, and it surprised her.

But all good things had to come to an end, and Eric was the one to break the kiss. They were both out of breath and they tried to catch it as they remained close together. Jackie gripped the chest of Eric's shirt in her hand and released a heavy breath.

She opened her eyes a moment later and looked to Eric, who had his brow furrowed in a curious way, "You alright?" She asked.

Eric nodded and replied with, "Yeah… I'm fine."

"Just making sure," Jackie said as the two remained glued to one another. Their faces were so close together, they could feel each other's breath. Eric's hands remained on Jackie's waist, and her hands remained where they were against him.

What Eric did next surprised Jackie, and it took her a little off guard, but in a split second he wrapped his arms around her and buried his face in her shoulder. She sat there for a moment, not knowing what to do or just what was going on, but then Eric said, "Thank you."

Jackie furrowed her brow in concern and mumbled into his shoulder, "For what?"

"For being you," Eric said back, tightening his arms around her, "For being so understanding."

Jackie smiled a little bit and finally hugged him back, resting the side of her head against his shoulder and petting the back of his head soothingly, "It's no problem, Eric."

0-0-0-0-0

Eric's been tossing and turning for a while now, he's kicked Jackie in the back several times in the past few minutes. He was dreaming, she knew, but she didn't wake him up. This wasn't nearly as bad as some of his dreams, and he needed sleep, so she let him toss and turn for a while, but things took a turn for the worse as time went on.

Eric's legs were jerking and he was slightly punching at the air, mumbling incoherent thoughts under his breath, his eyes screwed shut tightly and his brow furrowed in something caught between fear and sadness. Jackie watched him for a moment, trying to decide when it was her time to act. Eric kicked her again though, and she winced at the pain in her shin.

He was still whimpering quietly, meaning Jackie couldn't make out exactly what he was saying, but she knew whatever it was it wasn't good. When he rolled onto his back suddenly and quickly, punching up at the sky and narrowly avoiding Jackie's face, that's when she decided to wake him.

"Eric," Jackie said, shaking him roughly, but with a certain gentleness so she didn't freak him out.

Eric was a light sleeper now because of what happened, every little sound that happened in the night woke him, so of course the slightest touch on the shoulder woke him up and she wasn't expecting him to scream when he woke up.

The scream didn't last long though and it turned into whimpering. He was covering his ears and his eyes were closed, he sort of cowered away from her as he rolled onto his side and laid in the fetal postion.

"Eric, calm down!" Jackie said as she grabbed his shoulder, "It's just me. It's Jackie."

"Leave me alone! I-I don't want to see you anymore! Go away!" Eric cried shakily, his eyes screwed shut.

Jackie knew he wasn't talking to her.

"Eric, you're okay," Jackie soothed, gripping his shoulder tighter even though he was swatting her away, "She's not here. She can't hurt you."

"Leave me alone!" Eric cried, tears easily escaping his eyes.

"What's going on in here?!" Hyde suddenly cried, bursting into the room, eyes wide in worry.

Jackie looked up at him, her eyes sad and she shook her head. Hyde looked down to see Eric cowering in fear and he released a sigh. In relief, knowing he had just had a dream and nothing horrible had happened like he was expecting, but he sighed in a sort of knowing sadness as well, knowing this stuff wasn't easy for Eric.

"Forman," Hyde said, approaching the bedside and kneeling down, Jackie finally releasing Eric's shoulder, thinking maybe it would help him calm down, "It was just a dream."

Eric didn't say anything, he just choked back a sob. Jackie glanced up at Hyde and she sighed sadly. Hyde softly placed a hand on Eric's shoulder, trying to get him to realize that he was safe here.

"Eric," Jackie said as she sat up a little more and looked down at his face.

"She won't leave me alone," Eric choked out, tears spilling down his cheeks, "She was there, in the hallway. She didn't do anything, but I knew she was thinking it."

"She can't hurt you anymore, Eric. She's in prison, where she belongs," Jackie told him softly.

"I know those dreams seem real," Hyde started, his hand still on his little brother's shoulder, "But… Open your eyes. She's not here, it's just me and Jackie."

"You're okay, Eric," Jackie said, "She's gone."

"I know, but…" Eric didn't finish, he just started sobbing again.

Hyde looked up at Jackie again and gave her a knowing look. She was the only one who really had any capability of comforting the sobbing man, so Jackie looked back down at Eric and grabbed his arm gently, "Come here," She said, helping him roll over onto his other side and then she pulled him into her arms. Eric cried as he pushed his face into her shoulder. Jackie wrapped her arms around him, resting the side of her head against the top of his. He kissed the top of his head quickly and then ran her fingers gently through his thick hair.

"You're okay," Jackie said quietly.

Eric just cried in response, his eyes remaining squeezed shut and his fear never leaving him. Jackie released a heavy sigh and tried calming him down.

"You scared me," Jackie said to him sadly.

"Me too," Hyde continued.

Jackie held Eric for a few more moments until he stop sobbing and just went to whimpering and sniffling. When he was calmed down a little bit, she looked up to Hyde and gave him a knowing look. He nodded in return and stood, patting Eric gently on the shoulder.

"You're alright, Forman," Hyde said with sincerity, "You're safe. Don't scare me like that ever again."

"Okay," Eric mumbled quietly, and the tone in his voice made Hyde frown. He looked back up to Jackie and she sent him a look that told him she could handle this.

"Thank you, Jackie," Hyde said with a curt nod.

She smiled sadly at him and watched as he gave Eric one last concerned look and then left the room. Eric jerked when the Hyde shut the door behind him, but Jackie let him know everything was fine by slightly tightening her arms around him.

Jackie held Eric close to her as he just remained sniffling, the sobs having left him and leaving him very tired. Jackie leaned her head against his and ran her fingers through his hair, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," Eric sniffled, shivering slightly.

"I know this probably won't help, but just remember they're just dreams," Jackie said, pulling the blankets up on them a little to help keep Eric warm.

"They're terrifying," Eric said, gripping the side of Jackie's sleep shirt.

"What happened in it?" Jackie asked.

"Nothing," Eric said, adjusting his position next to her, "It was weird."

"Well, it was a bad one," Jackie remarked, "You kept kicking me in your sleep."

"Sorry," Eric apologized.

"It's fine," Jackie said with a small smile, "You are okay, though?"

"Yes, I'm fine," Eric said, smiling a little bit at her now as he pulled his head away to look at her, "You're sweet."

Jackie smiled back at him and leaned forward, kissing him on the forehead and pushing some sweat soaked hair out of his face. Eric relaxed into Jackie's arms finally and Jackie rubbed his back soothingly. Eric rest his head against her shoulder again, not wanting to be anywhere but right here in this moment. He gripped her shirt in his fist and released a tense sigh.

Jackie smiled sweetly at Eric and kept her arms wrapped around him. She continued to rub his back, maybe eventually he'd relax completely and fall back into sleep. Jackie moved her other hand from his hair to his shoulder, resting it there gently.

"I'm tired," Eric said, shaking his head, "But I don't want to go to sleep."

"I know you don't," Jackie said, frowning now, "I'll stay up with you."

"You don't have to do that," Eric said, looking at her again, "If you can sleep, sleep."

Jackie looked down at him and smiled sweetly, "I'm not that tired, besides… I'd rather stay up with you anyway."

Eric frowned, but he relaxed back against her again, "Okay. But if you get tired, go to sleep. Don't stay up for me."

"I don't think it's going to happen, but okay. If it makes you feel better," Jackie remarked.

"It does," Eric said back.

Jackie and Eric then leaned against each other again, relaxing into each other's embrace. And Jackie stayed true to her word. She didn't go to sleep that night, even though she was tired as hell.


	19. Chapter 19

A/N - I finally got my new laptop! Yay! I can save my stories and everything, and it doesn't crash! I love it so much! Thank you all for your reviews, they mean so much to me! :)

Disclaimer - Read the first chapter's.

Jackie had to get out of bed quietly that morning. She didn't want to wake Eric. She gently pushed the blankets off of her legs and let her feet hit the floor before she glanced back at her bunkmate. He was sleeping soundly and peacefully, as well deserved rest. Jackie smiled sweetly at him before she got out of bed and went over to the door, grabbing her robe as she went. She slipped it on over her shoulders and tied it at the waist before she opened her creaky door and stepped out of her bedroom. She peeked her head back in to check on Eric, making sure the creaky door hadn't woken him, and she was relieved when it hadn't. She closed the door quietly before she turned towards the hall and went towards the kitchen. When she entered the kitchen, she saw Hyde standing there by the coffee maker, pouring himself a fresh cup.

He saw her come in and he greeted her, "Good morning, Jackie."

"Good morning," Jackie said quietly as she stepped over to where he was.

"How'd you sleep?" Hyde asked, "How'd Forman sleep?"

"He finally fell asleep early this morning," Jackie said, pushing her dark hair behind her ears.

"And you?" Hyde asked.

"I didn't sleep so well," Jackie admitted, shrugging her shoulders, "I was too busy keeping an eye on Eric, making sure he didn't have another nightmare."

"Did you sleep at all?" Hyde asked as he leaned back against the counter, a hot mug of coffee in his hand.

"Very little," Jackie said.

"So… Nothing happened then?" Hyde suddenly suggested with a teasing smile.

"Wha—" Jackie saw what he was doing and she quickly cried, "Steven!"

"What? I'm just asking a question," Hyde said.

"Jesus, Steven!" Jackie cried, "Nothing like that happened!"

"I'm just teasing, Jackie," Hyde chuckled, "I know Forman, he's not ready for that quite yet."

Jackie was blushing like mad though, and it made Hyde smile.

"But he's warming to the idea, I bet," Hyde teased some more.

"Steven, would you shut up?" Jackie pleaded, giving him an annoyed look.

"I'm just saying, Jackie," Hyde started, "Forman's a bit cautious right now, but eventually he's going to get better, and that can only mean one thing."

"Jeez…" Jackie sighed, rubbing a hand across her forehead, "Just leave it be, please."

Hyde rolled his eyes, "Oh come on, Jackie. I know you love him, you're not that great at hiding it."

"I don't—" Jackie knew she couldn't lie though, she was a terrible liar, "It's that obvious?"

"It's very obvious," Hyde said with a chuckle.

"Well… We're just taking it slow," Jackie said and she felt Hyde nudge her.

"I know," Hyde said, "Forman's in no rush, anyway."

"I know," Jackie said, sort of sadly. Not because she was in a rush, but because of the reason Eric was taking it slow.

"At least Forman slept last night," Hyde said as Jackie began to pour herself a cup of coffee.

"I think it's the best he's slept in a long time," Jackie said honestly.

"Good," Hyde said, taking another sip of his coffee.

0-0-0-0-0

"Where the hell is the key?" Hyde asked as he searched for the key to his record store so they could close up.

"You put it away this morning," Eric said as he scratched the back of his head.

"Would you hurry up? I'm tired and I want to go home," Jackie pleaded impatiently.

"Are you okay?" Eric asked Jackie as she made a weird face.

"Yeah, my stomach's just a little upset," Jackie complained, "Plus, I'm tired."

"I told you to sleep, but you just don't listen," Eric said, shrugging as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"I know, I know…" Jackie said as she held her stomach.

"Found it!" Hyde cried, holding up the key.

"Thank God," Jackie said, feeling a little woozy.

"Are you going to be okay?" Eric asked Jackie as she shook her head to clear away to nausea.

"I'm fine," Jackie assured, "It'll pass. It's probably just that Mexican food I ate earlier."

"Yeah, that kind of upset my stomach too," Eric suddenly remembered, rubbing his stomach now.

"Come on, guys, let's get the hell out of here," Hyde said as he came towards them. They were just about to leave when the phone rang. Hyde grimaced and shook his head, "Just ignore it."

Eric looked up at the clock on the wall and said, "We're still on the clock, Hyde."

They don't officially close for fifteen minutes, but business was slow today, so they decided to leave early. Hyde groaned, "Fine, but make it quick. I'm hungry."

Eric nodded and rushed over to the counter, grabbing the phone and answering it, "Grooves Record Store, this is Eric speaking, how may I help you?"

"Eric, it's your mother," Kitty's voice suddenly said, seeming quite frantic.

"Mom?" Eric said quizzically, "Are you alright? Why are you calling here?"

"I couldn't get ahold of you at home, so I figured you were still at work," Kitty said, then she dropped the bombshell, "Laurie's having the baby."

"What?!" Eric cried and Hyde and Jackie approached him, wearing looks of curious concern, "Now? I thought she wasn't due until next week?"

"Well, it's early," Kitty said, "Hurry up, it won't be long now."

"Okay, okay. I'm on my way, I'll see you in just a few minutes," Eric said and his mother told him goodbye, "Okay, bye."

He hung up the phone and turned to see Jackie giving him a worried look, "Eric, is everything alright?"

Eric nodded quickly, "Yeah, yeah everything's fine. Laurie's having the baby right now. So, we need to go."

Jackie and Hyde immediately widened their eyes in surprise and Hyde pulled out his car keys, "Alright then, let's get going."

0-0-0-0-0

They've all been sitting in the waiting room for a few hours, none of them really saying anything. They didn't really know how childbirth went and how long it was supposed to take, they just knew it took some time and it was very painful. Eric was pacing nervously, worried for his sister and the baby. Eric generally doesn't care for his sister, but right now he felt obligated to.

They heard footsteps nearing them and they all looked up to see Red Forman approaching them, wearing a huge grin on his face.

"Dad…" Eric said, stepping over to him, "Is Laurie okay?"

"She's fine," Red said, "The baby's here. She's amazing."

Jackie smiled and Hyde sighed a sigh of relief as Eric tried to take it all in. So… He was officially an uncle now. This felt weird.

"Do you guys want to meet her?" Red asked giddily.

Eric nodded, "Yeah, of course."

"Follow me," Red smiled, leading the three of them back to Laurie's room.

It seemed like the hallway went on for an eternity, but they eventually reached Laurie's room. Everyone was eager to meet the new addition to the family. All eyes landed on Laurie in her hospital bed, a small bundle wrapped in pink lay cradled in her arms. The family quietly, but eagerly stepped into the room, trying to get a glimpse of the newborn.

"She's beautiful," Kitty said quietly as she stood by her daughter's bedside, stroking the child's soft hair.

"She looks like a Forman," Red examined with a happy smile.

"She looks like Eric," Laurie teased, but she was right. She did look like Eric, "You can come and see her, little brother."

The three of them by the doorway stepped forward gently, all wanting to meet the new addition. She had bright blue eyes that held all the curiosity of the world, she had dark hair and she was perfect.

"Her name's Audrey," Laurie said with a smile. Eric's never seen Laurie so genuinely happy, "It's means strength. I thought of you when I named her."

This is also the nicest he's ever seen Laurie. Eric actually felt a little choked up.

"She's beautiful, Laurie," Eric said with a smile, "Congratulations."

"Let's just hope she doesn't end up as twitchy as you," Laurie laughed.

"I was wondering where that snarky Laurie went," Eric said, but it was with a smile.

"Do you want to hold her?" Laurie suddenly asked.

"Uh…" Eric looked around at his friends and family, then he nodded, "Yeah, sure."

Laurie smiled at her little brother before she gently rested Audrey into Eric's arms. Everybody watched the moment unfold. Audrey peered up at Eric with her big, blue eyes. Eric smiled down at her and steadied his hold around her. He cradled her gently, letting her cuddle against him.

"Look at that, she already adores you," Laurie said and Eric smiled.

Audrey outstretched her hands towards Eric, making him chuckle in adoration. Jackie smiled, "She loves you."

"I wonder who she'll grow up to be," Hyde said as he peered down at the baby in his brother's arms.

"She's going to be tough, I know it," Laurie said, "Just like her uncle."

"Would you stop," Eric chuckled, "You're making me all teary eyed."

Everybody laughed at that.

Everybody watched Eric and the baby with kind eyes. Eric stroked the side of Audrey's head as the small child began to lull into sleep. Eric smiled down at her, and Jackie's heart swelled just seeming him so happy.

"You're a natural with kids, Forman," Hyde noticed.

"I don't know what it is," Eric shrugged, "They just like me."

"Well, I'm glad," Laurie said with a smile.

"Do you want to hold her, Jackie?" Eric asked.

"Of course," Jackie said eagerly. Eric carefully placed Audrey in Jackie's arms and then he stepped back to lean against the side of Laurie's bed next to her.

The group of family and friends stuck around the hospital most of the night, all of them cherishing the new addition to the family. They only decided it was time to go when the doctor's started pestering them. So everyone left expect for Kitty and Red, who would stay with their daughter and their new granddaughter for the night.

Eric, Jackie, and Hyde were on their way home now in Hyde's old beat up car. They all felt a little lighter than they did earlier in the day, they all felt genuinely happy for the first time in a long time.

"What a day, huh?" Hyde said as he stopped at a stop light.

"You're telling me," Eric said with a small, tired smile, "She was something else, wasn't she?"

"She was beautiful," Jackie said with a smile.

"So… What's the plan for tomorrow?" Eric asked.

"I'm sleeping tomorrow," Jackie said with a giggle.

"Yeah, that sounds good," Hyde said.

"I'm in," Eric agreed.

The three were then silent. They were quiet until they got home and walked into the apartment, all of them starting to head their separate directions.

"I'll see you guys in the morning," Hyde said, heading for the bathroom.

"Alright, goodnight," Eric and Jackie called as Hyde went into the bathroom and closed the door behind him, the sound of the sink running filling the air now.

Jackie yawned and stretched her arms above her head, ready to turn in herself, "Welp… I think I'm going to go hit the hay myself."

Eric nodded, "I'm right behind you."

"I'll see you in the morning then," Jackie said, and then she began to walk towards her bedroom, but Eric called out.

"Jackie," He said, making her stop and turn to look at him.

"Yeah?" She asked, her brow furrowed curiously.

Eric avoided her eyes nervously, flicking his fingers anxiously, "I was just wondering, I uh… I slept really good last night. Probably the best I've slept in months. I was just wondering if I could uh, well… Stay with you again tonight? If you wouldn't mind, of course."

Jackie smiled and nodded, "Of course I don't mind, Eric. You're always welcome."

"Really?" He asked, catching her eyes now.

"Really," Jackie said, "As long as I can sleep tonight."

"I told you to sleep last night," Eric said, "You being tired is nobody's fault but your own."

"I know," Jackie smiled, "Come on, let's go to bed."

Eric then followed Jackie to her room and they both got into bed, both of them falling into a deep and well deserved sleep.


	20. Chapter 20

A/N - Hey guys, I'm back after a long break. Sorry. My hours at work have been extended until they hire someone else for mornings, so I'm working quite a bit right now. Anyways, thanks for the reviews, this chapter's a bit different than the other ones and it's a bit Hyde centric. Hope you enjoy it.

Disclaimer - Read the first chapter's.

It had been three weeks since Laurie had baby Audrey. In those three weeks Eric has dragged Hyde and Jackie across town to see her. He adored her, and she adored him right back. He could get her to smile in nothing flat. As soon as she saw his face, she was beaming a gummy smile. Jackie thought it was cute how well the two got along, she knew Eric would play a huge part in that little girl's life.

Jackie adored Audrey, too, as well as Hyde. Jackie's already been telling the infant all the wonderful things she was going to buy her to spoil her, and Hyde swore when the child was older he was going to teach her everything he possibly could. With Hyde around the baby, they sort of figured she'd turn into a tomboy once she was older. But who really knew who she'd turn out to be?

Hyde was happy right now, mostly because his friends were happy. Eric seemed happier now that he had a little niece, she brought a little light into his life. A light he desperately needed. Jackie's been slowly getting over her mother, or trying to anyway. As long as she was trying, that was a sign that she was getting better in Hyde's eyes. Eric and Jackie really helped each other though, they understood each other. Not the situations the others had been in, but the feelings that they felt. They shared the sadness and depression, and all of the anxiety. They knew how it felt to be at your lowest point, and being able to relate to one another like that seemed to help somehow. They were always smiling in each other's presence, and Hyde often wondered how the two weren't together yet. Well, of course he knew their was something going on between them, he was just curious as to why they're keeping it a secret. Maybe they didn't want to admit to themselves that they liked each other? Maybe they were just nervous what everyone else would think? Who knows. Those two have always been a mystery to him.

Hyde was sitting on the couch, watching TV. Some game show was on and Hyde always though people on game shows were stupid. The answers were so obvious. If you had a high school education and a good knowledge of popular culture, these things were easy, but the idiotic contestants always seemed to mess up and guess wrong, which always made Hyde scoff and call them inappropriate things under his breath.

As he was sitting there, watching TV, there was a knock on the door, which made him quirk an eyebrow. Nobody ever came over. Well, except their neighbor Jillian, and it was usually because she was being paranoid over something ridiculous. Hyde was pretty sure she was a pot head. Not a pot head like he was, a pot head who was literally stoned all the time.

The knocking repeated and Hyde looked over to the door this time and looked at for a moment. He didn't want to deal with their neighbor today, but knowing her persistency, she'd never leave unless he answered the door. So Hyde stood up, setting the bag of chips he was eating from on the cheap coffee table in between him and the television set, and then he stepped over to the door.

Hyde stopped in front of it and peered out the peephole. He quirked an eyebrow when he didn't recognize the person there. It was a man and he looked rather annoyed at this point. Hyde flinched a bit when the man quickly knocked on the door again and said, "Hey, is anybody home?"

Hyde sighed and unlocked the door, finally opening it and peering down at the shorter man, "What do you want?"

"Hey, is there a Jackie Burkhart that lives here?" He asked curiously, his eyebrows furrowed as he peered up at Hyde, stuffing his hands into his deep coat pockets, almost nervously.

Hyde examined this man, unsure of him. He seemed twitchy, and not an Eric kind of twitchy, no, this guy was almost crazy looking it seemed. His bright blue eyes looked wide, but that could just be because of how bright they were. He was short in stature and quite thin, his brown hair was shaggy and greasy and sticking out all over the place, and his facial hair was scratchy. He looked like a homeless man besides the attire he wore, which were baggy jeans and a red leather jacket over a yellow t-shirt with a hole in the neck.

"Hello?" The man said, waving a hand in front of Hyde's face as he zoned out.

"Yeah, she lives here. How'd you know that?" Hyde asked, blanking.

"Um... I looked her up in the phone book," The man said, looking at Hyde quizzically, "Are you stoned right now?"

Hyde then glared at the man, "Who are you and why are you here?"

"I'm here to see Jackie, obviously," The man said, trying to look over Hyde's shoulder, but Hyde blocked his view by taking a protective stance in the doorway.

"Why?" Hyde asked, not trusting this very peculiar man.

"Because friends like to hang out. Is there a problem here, buddy?" The man asked, smiling, but he seemed annoyed as he shrugged his shoulders.

"Yes, there is a problem, 'buddy,'" Hyde said, using his fingers to quote the younger man, "I don't know who you think you are, but-"

"Gordon?" Jackie's voice suddenly cut off Hyde's, making him flinch and turn to face her.

'Gordon' smiled and wiggled his finger's at Jackie as she beamed and came over to the door, Hyde moving out of her way so she could greet the man. Hyde watched as Jackie wrapped his arms around him and said, "Oh my God, it's good to see you. How've you been?"

They pulled away from each other and Gordon smiled, "Pretty good, I just got out of prison three days ago."

Jackie rolled her eyes at his term for the mental hospital, but she still smiled, "Well, congratulations."

"Thank you," Gordon smiled at her as he looked past Jackie at Hyde, almost nervously.

Jackie looked back at Hyde when she noticed the awkward tension in the air and then she smiled and said, "Oh, Steven, this is Gordon. He was Eric's roommate back at the hospital. He was one of my best friend's there, I credit him with getting me through the day some days."

"Please Jackie, you're embarrassing me," Gordon said sarcastically, making Jackie smack him gently on the arm.

"Nice to meet you," Hyde said, though he didn't seem enthusiastic about this guy. Not at all, but he still said, "Sorry for being so defensive. I'm kind of cautious with people these days."

Gordon just shrugged it off and stuffed his hands back into his pockets, "Eh, it's no big deal. I understand," Hyde nodded curtly as Gordon looked back to Jackie, "Speaking of Eric, where is he? You guys still hang out?"

Jackie smiled, "As a matter of fact, we do. We actually live here together."

"Hot," Gordon joked, and Jackie smacked him again, just like she used to back at the hospital when he'd say something stupid. Gordon just chuckled and said, "Well, can we go and see him? I haven't seen him in forever."

"Of course. Come on in," Jackie said, and Hyde moved out of there way to let them in.

He watched as they went into his apartment, keeping his eyes on Gordon. The kid was weird, he didn't like him. There was something off about him, he just didn't know what. He ignored his ill feeling towards the snarky young man for the sake of his two friends and he closed the door, locking it back up.

He stepped over to where the two had stopped in the beginning of the hallway, looking towards the door at the end of the hall. Hyde didn't want to intrude on their little conversation, so he stepped into the kitchen, but he could still hear them from where he was.

"How's he holding up after the trial and everything? Has he been doing okay?" He heard Gordon ask Jackie, his tone serious now.

Jackie nodded, "He had some anxiety problems at first and he still does, and he's had some nightmares, but... He's been doing a lot better, actually. He's got a niece now, and he absolutely adores her."

Gordon smiled, "Oh, well that's great."

Jackie nodded and smiled, "Yeah, he's doing pretty good, actually."

"Good," Gordon said, looking towards the door again, "Well, I guess I should go make my grand entry."

Jackie giggled and rolled her eyes again, "Well, come on then."

The two friends went down the hall to Eric's bedroom door and Jackie knocked quickly and then she heard a, "Come in," So she opened the door and saw Eric sitting on his bed, putting a new tape in his Walkman. He looked up at her and smiled, "Hey Jackie, did you see what Laurie gave me?"

Jackie shook her head and kept that warm smile on her face, "No, what'd she give you?"

"She gave me the new Styx album, it sounds great on this thing," Eric said with a wide smile. Jackie smiled at him, but she rolled her eyes at his taste in music.

"Well, guess what?" Jackie asked giddily.

"What?" Eric asked, gazing up at Jackie curiously.

"There's somebody here to see you," Jackie said with excitement.

"To see me?" Eric asked, furrowing his brow in curiosity now, "Who?"

"Maybe you should get up and find out?" Jackie suggested with a shrug of her shoulders.

Eric, who's brow was still furrowed, took the headphones off his ears and set them down on his bed before he stood and came over to the door where Jackie was. She was smiling excitedly, which made him smile a little bit, then he peered out the door and saw Gordon standing there with a smile on his face as well.

Eric beamed then and said, "Gordon!"

Gordon and Eric hugged and Jackie stood back and let them reunite. They pulled apart a moment later and Gordon asked, "Hey man, how're you doing?"

Eric smiled, "I'm good. What about you?"

"I'm out of the hospital, so fantastic," Gordon replied.

Eric chuckled at that, as did Jackie. Jackie then mentioned, "You got a haircut."

Gordon self-consciously ran a hand through his hair then, "Yeah, I thought I needed one."

"You think," Jackie said, thinking back to Gordon's long hair back a few months ago, "It looks good."

"Thanks," Gordon smiled, then he looked down at his watch, "You guys want to get out of here? Go out to eat or something?"

Jackie looked at Eric and then said, "We'd love to, but... Steven's a bit strict. He doesn't like us going out alone."

"Really?" Gordon scoffed, "What is he, your mother?"

Jackie rolled her eyes again and smirked, "No, he's just protective, is all."

"You think?" Gordon asked, looking over his shoulder and down the hall, "I thought he was going to scalp me at the door."

"That's just Steven, you'll get used to him," Jackie said, shrugging, "I'll go ask him about going out, but he'll probably end up coming with us."

Gordon shrugged, "Fine by me, as long he keeps his hands to himself."

"I'll make sure to tell him," Jackie said sarcastically before she left the room to go and ask Hyde about going out.

Gordon looked back to Eric and asked, "So, really, how've you been?"  
0-0-0-0-0  
An hour later the group were out eating at an Italian restaurant downtown. It had pretty good food, it had to since everybody ate every scrap on their plate. Eric, Jackie, and Gordon all caught up on everything. Eric told Gordon about his niece, Jackie told him about her progress with her mother, and Gordon told them all about how he's been doing without them.

"So, is Josie still in there?" Jackie finally asked.

Gordon frowned and nodded, "Yeah... She's not doing so hot. She's been real paranoid lately, I think that schizophrenia's getting worse."

Jackie and Eric both frowned at that, "Well... I hope she gets better some day so she can get the hell out of there," Jackie said.

"Yeah, me too," Eric said, "She was always real nice."

"Yeah, fuck all this mental illness bullshit," Gordon said loudly, making Jackie send him a scolding glare.

"Gordon, would you lower your voice? People are staring," Jackie told him.

"Let 'em stare," Gordon said, not seeming bothered, "They should all have the same opinion. Let mental illness be fucked."

Hyde sighed irritably and shook his head before he said, "Alright, trust exercise. I've got to go to the bathroom. Stay right here, I'll be right back."

Hyde then stood and went off to the restroom, just wanting to get away from Gordon. Gordon watched after Hyde as he disappeared into the bathroom, then he said, "Trust exercise? Jesus, am I still in the hospital?"

Eric rolled his eyes, "Gordon, would you lay off the guy?"

"Why? He acts like your guys' mother," Gordon said in annoyance.

"Well, you have to remember, Gordon. Me and Eric did try and kill ourselves," Jackie reminded the boy, "We're not like you. We had-"

"What? Serious problems?" Gordon scoffed.

Jackie shook her head, "That's not what I meant."

"Whatever," Gordon said, looking out the window.

Eric and Jackie shared a concerned look and then looked back at Gordon, Eric asking, "Are you okay?"

He looked back at Eric with a sharp gaze, "Yeah, I'm fine. Why?"

Eric shrugged, avoiding eye contact now, a bit nervous, "Well, because... You've been kind of snappy tonight."

Gordon shook his head, "I'm fine, Eric."

Jackie gazed at him curiously, "Gordon, have you been taking your meds?"

"Yes," Gordon snapped almost instantly.

Jackie watched him carefully. He was very jittery tonight, and he always was, but this was different. Jackie didn't know that much about bipolar disorder, so she didn't really know for sure if these were symptoms at first, but the way he reacted to her asking if he's been taking his meds made her think he was lying to her. This irritability was a symptom of his disorder.

"Gordon, you need to calm down," Jackie said, noticing his leg bouncing up and down and how he kept sporadically scratching at his head.

"I am calm," Gordon said, looking around the restaurant anxiously.

Jackie looked over at Eric nervously, and he looked just as nervous as she was. They both looked back to Gordon, trying to get him to notice their concern for him.

"You want to step outside?" Jackie asked Gordon after a moment and he finally looked at her with annoyance in his eyes, but there was something else there. Pleading.

"Sure," He said, shrugging his shoulders.

Jackie and Eric looked at each other and thank God Hyde came back out at that moment, he was about to sit back down when Jackie looked at him and said, "We need to get out of here."

Hyde looked down at her curiously, "Why?"

"Just trust me, we do," Jackie said to him, and he looked into her eyes and knew she was trying to tell him something. Hyde looked over at Eric, and he seemed nervous and he was looking at Gordon. Hyde looked over at their friend who he decided he didn't like right from the beginning and he saw how anxious and fidgety the boy seemed.

Hyde sighed and nodded, "I'll go pay the bill."

Hyde quickly paid the bill and came back to the table, the three of them there already standing and ready to go. They left the restaurant briskly, and as soon as they were outside on the street corner, Gordon reached into his pocket and pulled out a pack of smokes, quickly pulling a cigarette out and lighting it quickly.

The three others watched him nervously as he shakily shoved the pack and lighter back into his pocket and take a puff from his cigarette. Hyde looked at Jackie and Eric in a confused way. He didn't know anything about this kid, so he didn't really know what was going on with him. All he knew was that as the day went on he got more irritable and everyone around him had started to get annoyed.

"Gordon," Jackie quietly said, making him look over to her, "Are you alright?"

"Haven't you already asked me that?" Gordon asked, looking at her with a look of annoyance and slight anger.

Jackie looked at Eric and then at Hyde before she said, "You just seem a bit on edge."

"I'm fine, I told you," Gordon said, breaking eye contact again and taking another puff of his cigarette.

Hyde was annoyed with the guy at this point, but his snappy attitude towards Jackie sent him over the edge. Hyde grabbed Gordon by the shoulder and forced him to look up at him, "Alright kid, I've had enough of you bullshit. What the hell is wrong with you?"

"Nothing's wrong with me, I'm fine. Weren't you listening?" Gordon snapped, shrugging out of Hyde's grip on his shoulder.

"You're starting to piss me off, you know that?" Hyde asked.

"Really? I couldn't tell," Gordon remarked sarcastically.

"Alright, that's it-" But Jackie cut him off.

"Gordon, what's wrong?" She asked her friend, and for some reason that seemed to send him over the edge.

"What's wrong? What's wrong?! I'll tell you what's wrong!" Gordon snapped, glaring at all three of them, "I was in a hospital for a year and a half and nobody ever came to visit me! Not my friends, my sisters, not even my fucking parents! After I was diagnosed as bipolar, it's like everybody just abandoned me! No one wants to be around a kid who's jumping off the walls 24/7! And not to mention the pills! Their are so many pills! He can't take this one, it makes him cry himself to sleep! He can't take this one, it makes him flip tables! That one makes him sad, this one makes him anxious! Pill after pill after pill! They make me sick, I took so many! And all my friends left me! Eric had to leave because of what happened and you had to go off and help him! Josie's ten miles away and losing her god damn mind! Everybody else either got better or killed themselves! I had to get out of there, man, I just had to! I was going insane in there! It was just-"

Then Gordon just screamed. He threw his cigarette down onto the ground, not bothering with stomping it out and they all watched him kick over a trash bin on the curb. There were people gathering now, watching as he had a breakdown. They couldn't believe what they were seeing. This was a manic episode he was having, but it wasn't like his other ones. From what he explained to Jackie the day she arrived at the hospital, his episodes were never out of anger, he always just had manic highs and he said they made him feel happy. But this was different, this was full of rage and sadness.

Jackie felt the tears in her eyes as she watched her friend throw trash out onto the street. He tore paper, kicked cans, he broke a glass bottle, making shards fly everywhere and making the people around them cry out in fright.

"I'm going to go and call 911," A woman said, and it made Jackie turn to her in alarm.

"No, don't!" Jackie pleaded, grabbing the woman's arm, "Please don't, I got this. I'll calm him down and we'll take him home, just please... Don't call 911. He's fine."

"He doesn't look fine," The woman said, giving the manic boy an almost disgusted look, "What's wrong with him?"

Jackie then glared at the woman, feeling a pang of anger inside of her, "There is nothing wrong with him."

Then Jackie turned away from the woman, releasing her arm as she looked over at her friends. They had to calm Gordon down somehow, Jackie couldn't do it by herself. Hyde sighed and looked down at the anxious girl, "I've got him."

Hyde then approached Gordon as he threw the glass bottle into the vacant street, making the people around them cry out again as Gordon yelled out, "God dammit!"

Hyde walked up to him and grabbed his arm, not being gentle about it. He had to calm down Gordon now, and if he had to do it by force he would. Gordon spun around and tried yanking his arm out of Hyde's grip, but Hyde refused to let go, "Let go of me, you bastard!"

"Calm down, kid!" Hyde ordered, struggling with the wiry boy, "I'm not going to hurt you!"

"Let me go!" Gordon cried, still struggling against Hyde who easily had six inches and thirty pounds on him.

"Calm down," Hyde said, calmer this time, "You're okay. Calm down."

Gordon struggled still, but he was starting to give in, knowing it was no use. He never had in luck when it came to fighting, he was more of 'all talk, no action' kind of guy.

"God dammit..." Gordon said quieter now, finally giving up, "I hate you. I fucking hate you."

"Yeah, the feelings mutual," Hyde said, but he was surprised then when Gordon started crying.

Hyde didn't know what to do, he was never good with emotional type stuff. Gordon bowed his head and let it rest on Hyde's chest, and now Hyde really didn't know what to do. Just pretend it's Eric, he told himself. But this wasn't Eric, it was some random kid he just met. This kid was annoying and loud, foul mouthed and rude. He sounded like Kitty when he thought stuff like that, but this kid was those things.

Hyde looked to Jackie and Eric for help, and they quickly approached him. Jackie grabbed Gordon's shoulder and gently pulled him away from Hyde, making him look at her.

"Gordon?" Jackie said quietly, looking at him with concern.

"Don't send me back there," Gordon sniffled, shaking his head, "I don't want to go back there."

Jackie shook her head, "You're not going back there, never again. I promise you."

Gordon sniffled again and tried to stop crying, but it was too hard. Jackie squeezed his shoulder supportively, trying to calm him down, "Are you okay?"

Gordon was silent for a moment, but then he shook his head, "No."

Then he was crying again and Jackie wrapped him up in a hug. The people around them had gotten quiet now and just watched the scene unfold. Eric was watching on with sad eyes, feeling bad for his friend. Gordon was always the one to make him and Jackie feel better at the hospital, he was the light in the darkness, the one you could always count on to make things right. Looks like he had his demons, too. Hyde watched Jackie hold her friend with care and affection. He didn't realize how much this kid really meant to the two, he thought he was just some guy they befriended at the hospital and that was all, but they seemed pretty close.

Hyde didn't like the guy, but his friends really wanted him, too. Maybe Hyde could get to know him, maybe he'd warm to him. It looks like he's got some problems, and Hyde's used to dealing with those. His two roommates have some pretty big ones and he's helped them through a lot. Hyde didn't like it, but he couldn't let this kid be alone. He just destroyed the corner in under three minutes.

Hyde sighed, "Come on, guys. Let's get him home."

Gordon shook his head, "I don't want to go home. Ever since I got home, it's been awkward. Everybody there thinks I'm a freak."

"We're not taking you to your home, kid," Hyde started with a small smile that was partially forced, "We're taking you to ours."

Gordon looked up at Hyde with surprise, "Really?"

Hyde nodded, "Yeah, now come on, don't get all sappy on me, let's go."

"I don't get sappy," Gordon defended a moment later.

"Shut up," Hyde said, but it didn't sound rude, "Just get in the car."

Gordon smiled and nodded, sniffling and wiping his face of tears, "Thanks."

Hyde didn't say anything, he just motioned for him to get in the car. Gordon got into the passenger seat of Hyde's car and Jackie and Eric looked over at Hyde with surprise.

"You're going to let him stay with us?" Eric asked.

"Only for a little while. Just until he gets better," Hyde said, "After that, he's out."

Jackie smiled, almost in a teasing way, "Aw... You like him."

"No, I hate him. He's a jackass," Hyde said in annoyance, his face showing a grimace.

"There's a soft spot for him in that black heart of yours," Jackie teased, "You've always had sympathy for guys like him."

"Guys like him?" Hyde questioned.

Jackie nodded, "Yeah. Guys who need help. That's why you're helping me and Eric."

"I'm helping you and Eric because I care about you," Hyde snapped in defense.

"Then why are you helping Gordon?" Jackie asked, and when Hyde didn't answer Jackie smiled and said, "Told you so."

"Get in the car. Both of you," Hyde ordered, opening the back door for them to slide in.

Eric and Jackie snickered before they got into the car and closed the door. Hyde sighed and ran a hand down his face before he turned and looked down at the boy in the passenger seat. Gordon had his head bowed and he was still sniffling, his hands were fiddling with the hem of his red leather jacket, his brown hair was hanging in front of his bright eyes that still looked watery.

Hyde sighed again as he looked at the sight of the broken young man. Hyde hated that soft spot in his heart.

He hated it with a passion.

A/N - Hyde subplot. *wink wink*


End file.
